Vladimir Putin’s rare visit to the reclusive state comes as he seeks ammunition for his war in Ukraine and vows to back Kim’s nuclear-armed regime against the United States.
Kim was at Pyongyang International Airport to greet Putin upon his arrival in the early hours of Wednesday, shaking his hand and embracing him, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
The leaders’ itinerary also includes individual speeches, a tea party and a “ceremonial concert” to be held at a sports complex, Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said Monday, according to Russian state media.
The strategic agreement could “lay the groundwork for arms trade and also facilitate their anti-U.S. and anti-West coalition,” said Lami Kim, a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that Russia was trying “in desperation, to develop and to strengthen relations with countries that can provide it with what it needs to continue the war of aggression that it started against Ukraine.”
Russia ended the monitoring of U.N. sanctions against North Korea with a veto in the Security Council earlier this year that drew accusations that Moscow was avoiding scrutiny and joining China in shielding Kim from consequences for his weapons tests.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years, as Kim accelerates weapons testing and the U.S., South Korea and Japan intensify joint military drills that the North views as a rehearsal for invasion.
The original article contains 924 words, the summary contains 218 words. Saved 76%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Kim was at Pyongyang International Airport to greet Putin upon his arrival in the early hours of Wednesday, shaking his hand and embracing him, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
The leaders’ itinerary also includes individual speeches, a tea party and a “ceremonial concert” to be held at a sports complex, Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said Monday, according to Russian state media.
The strategic agreement could “lay the groundwork for arms trade and also facilitate their anti-U.S. and anti-West coalition,” said Lami Kim, a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that Russia was trying “in desperation, to develop and to strengthen relations with countries that can provide it with what it needs to continue the war of aggression that it started against Ukraine.”
Russia ended the monitoring of U.N. sanctions against North Korea with a veto in the Security Council earlier this year that drew accusations that Moscow was avoiding scrutiny and joining China in shielding Kim from consequences for his weapons tests.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years, as Kim accelerates weapons testing and the U.S., South Korea and Japan intensify joint military drills that the North views as a rehearsal for invasion.
The original article contains 924 words, the summary contains 218 words. Saved 76%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!