Kim Jong-un and Putin ended their meeting with spaceport and rocket exhibition
By Daily Tab24. Updated: Sep 14, 2023.
The meeting ended in Russia’s Far East, at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. It began with a warn exchange of pleasantries, where Russian President waited for the arrival of the Korean leader’s armored train. A handshake that accompanied words of welcome took a couple of minutes before the two leaders headed for the meeting venue. Putin knew the Western eyes were on him, so, he majestically comported himself, passing a defiant message of a wolverine.
Russia’s delegation were shown North Korean armories the last time they visited Korea, and this time, Putin was determined to show off Russian spaceport and rockets to his ally. It’s a way of convincing his counterpart of his country’s capabilities.
“Everything here is Russian, from the rocket to the last bolt” Putin proudly said as he toured his spaceport with Kim Jong-un.
In separate place, during dinner to mark the end of the visit, Putin quoted a Korean proverb in his final speech “in Korea there is a proverb- cloths are good when they are new, but a friend is good when he is old. And we have a saying (in Russia), an old friend is better than two new ones” Putin said, referencing the long relations between the two countries.
“To the health of comrade Vladimir Putin, to the new victories of great Russia, to the strengthening of Russian-Korean friendship” the North Korean leader responded with flare. It was a dinner to mark the end of the first foreign visit in four years for the Korean leader.
As Kim and Putin went for the private one-on-one meeting, Russian delegation with North Korean delegation sat down to negotiate a couple of things. On top of the agenda is arms deal, where North Korea would deliver arms to Russia in return for favors – improving the bilateral relations of the two countries under strict Western sanctions.
Should arms deal be sealed between the two countries, it would violate UN declaration and weaken Western sanctions against the two countries. The foreign visit by Kim Jong-un is the first in four years, but the trip to Russia is not a surprise, the two countries share strong natural ties since the founding of North Korea 75 years ago.
Kremlin did not disclose the details of the meeting between Kim and Putin. It was dubbed ‘sensitive’ by the offices of the two leaders. The meeting is expected to address ways to maneuver sanctions by the West that is crippling the economy of the two countries. Both countries share common idea towards the West and have always accused the West of imperialism.
U.S. intelligence community has said North Korea is likely to supply Russia arms, noting that the priority of the meeting is arms deal. Putin agreed that the war in Ukraine will be a long walk – prolonged by the intervention of the West. It has been 556 days of the way, and ammunitions are declining and reinforcement needed to keep the pace or demands of the war. With arms delivery to Russia, the war will be shaped to giving Russia upper hand.
West will always be the aim of any meeting between Russia and North Korea. Both countries see the West as great adversary, and will commit greatly to see to the fall of the West. Affirming the bad blood and bitterness between them and the West, Kim while reciprocating the greetings of Putin said –
“Russia has risen for a sacred fight to protect its national sovereignty and safety against hegemonic forces. We will always stand together (with Russia) against imperialism” Kim said while indicating that the war against the West, which Ukraine is the focal point at the moment is his priority – in terms of helping Russia.
