United States concerned that arms negotiations between the two countries are advancing
\nVladivostok
\nNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un plans to travel to Russia this month to meet President Vladimir Putin and discuss supplying Moscow with weapons for the war in Ukraine, the New York Times reported.
\nIn a rare trip abroad, Kim would travel from Pyongyang, probably by armoured train, to Vladivostok, on the Pacific Coast of Russia, where he would meet Putin, the Times reported on Monday, citing US and allied sources.
\nWhite House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Aug. 30 that the United States was concerned that arms negotiations between the two countries were advancing.
\nWhile in Vladivostok, a port city not far from North Korea, the two leaders would discuss Kim\u2019s sending Russia artillery shells and anti-tank missiles in exchange for Moscow\u2019s advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, the newspaper reported.
\nAt a time when the United States has expressed concern about growing military ties between the two countries, the news of Kim\u2019s planned visit came after Russia said it was discussing holding joint military exercises with North Korea.
\n\u201cWhy not, these are our neighbours. There\u2019s an old Russian saying: you don\u2019t choose your neighbours and it\u2019s better to live with your neighbours in peace and harmony,\u201d Interfax news agency quoted Russia\u2019s Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, as saying on Monday.
\nWhen asked about the possibility of joint exercises between the two countries, he said \u201cof course\u201d they were being discussed, it said.
\nSouth Korean news agency Yonhap earlier cited South Korea\u2019s intelligence agency as saying Shoigu, who visited Pyongyang in July, had proposed to Kim that their countries hold a naval exercise, along with China.<\/p>\n
Cold War Allies
\nIt would be notable if Kim travels to Russia, rather than his main ally and trade partner China, for his first overseas trip since before the Covid-19 pandemic, said Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Seoul\u2019s Kookmin University.
\nThe actual military and economic value of any deal is debatable, but discussions would likely lead to at least some military cooperation and an increase in North Korean workers in Russia, while both sides would seek to send political messages to Washington, he said.
\nFor Moscow \u201cit is basically about sending a signal to Washington that Russia is capable of creating some additional trouble for the United States in east Asia,\u201d Lankov said.
\n\u201cWithout the Ukraine war, Russia would not care about North Korea,\u201d he added.
\nWhile Kim might hope for some kind of arms sales or economic aid, his main goal from such a meeting would be to demonstrate that he too has international backing as the United States, South Korea, and Japan deepen ties and displays of military power, Lankov said.
\n\u201cHe wants to show he has friends,\u201d he said.
\nSouth Korea\u2019s foreign ministry said on Tuesday it was monitoring developments and said United Nations member states should not violate sanctions, including through arms deals.
\n\u201cIn particular, military cooperation with North Korea, which undermines the peace and stability of the international community, should not take place,\u201d a spokesperson told a briefing.
\nThe Kremlin said last week that Moscow intends to deepen its \u201cmutually respectful relations\u201d with Pyongyang, one of its close Cold War allies and also one of a small handful of countries to back Russia\u2019s proclaimed annexation of parts of Ukraine in 2022.
\nThe New York Times reported that Kim could possibly go to Moscow, although that was not certain.
\nKim\u2019s father, the reclusive Kim Jong Il who famously shunned planes and travelled by armoured train only, last visited Russia just months before his death in 2011.
\nShoigu visited North Korea for the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War in July, celebrated in North Korea as \u201cVictory Day,\u201d with South Korea\u2019s National Intelligence Service saying that he appeared to have held a private meeting with Kim, Yonhap reported.
\nThe United States said last week it was concerned that arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea were advancing actively, and that Shoigu had tried during his visit to convince Pyongyang to sell artillery ammunition to Russia.
\nOn Saturday, Russia\u2019s ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, told TASS news agency that he was not aware of any plans for North Korea to participate in trilateral military drills with China and Russia, but that in his opinion it would be \u201cappropriate\u201d in light of U.S.-led exercises in the region.
\nRussia and North Korea have recently called for closer military ties but North Korea has denied having any \u201carms dealings\u201d with Russia.
\nThe United States recently imposed sanctions on three entities it accused of being tied to arms deals between North Korea and Russia.
\nNorth Korea has conducted six nuclear tests since 2006 and had been testing various missiles over recent years but it rarely holds military exercises with its neighbours.
\nThe United States and its ally, South Korea, hold regular military exercises, which North Korea denounces as preparations for war against it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
United States concerned that arms negotiations between the two countries are advancing Vladivostok North Korean leader Kim Jong Un plans to travel to Russia this month to meet President Vladimir Putin and discuss supplying Moscow with weapons for the war in Ukraine, the New York Times reported. In a rare trip abroad, Kim would travel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354107,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-354082","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n