After days of secrecy, in which it had been published that the summit could be held in Vladivostok, Vladimir Putin finally received Kim Jong Un this Wednesday at the Vostochny cosmodrome, also located in the Russian Far East, but in the neighboring Amur Oblast. The talks are expected to include negotiations on the supply of North Korean weapons that Russia could use in Ukraine, a fear expressed by several Western countries.
The Russian president arrived at the cosmodrome, located near the city of Tsiolkovski, a day earlier, after participating in the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum, which was held in Vladivostok.
The leader of North Korea arrived in Russia the day before on his armored train, following the tradition started by his grandfather and founder of the country Kim Il Sung, and maintained by his father Kim Jong Il, who was afraid of airplanes. Due to the low speed of the heavy convoy (about 50 kilometers per hour), the journey between Pyongyang and its final destination has taken more than two days.
The train stopped this Wednesday near the cosmodrome facilities. A staircase with a red carpet was installed next to his carriage. An honor guard of the Russian Eastern Military District was placed on both sides, with flags of the two countries, according to the Tass agency.
Among others, Kim was received by the Russian Minister of Natural Resources, Alexander Kozlov.
Then Kim Jong Un boarded a limousine that took him to the rocket installation and testing building of the cosmodrome, where Putin was waiting for him. “I’m glad to see you. This is our new cosmodrome,” said the Russian president as he shook his hand.
According to the Interfax agency, the delegations of both countries will hold “several hours” of negotiations. Then Putin and Kim will have a face-to-face meeting for about three hours.
The first meeting between both leaders took place in 2019 in the port city of Vladivostok, on the Pacific Ocean. Kim also traveled on his armored train and it was his last trip abroad, since months later the Covid pandemic broke out and the Pyongyang regime closed its borders firmly. It has reopened them this summer, although under strict protocols.
According to The New York Times last week, the meeting between Putin and Kim could agree on a potential supply of North Korean ammunition that the Russian Army would use to deactivate the Ukrainian counteroffensive in a conflict that lasts more than 18 months.
North Korea can make its weapons industry available to Russia in exchange for advanced technology for satellites and nuclear submarines. Nor should we forget food assistance, an endemic need in the Asian country. In fact, the last visit to Russia by Kim Jong Il, the father of the current leader, on his armored train, in August 2011, had the objective of obtaining 50,000 tons of grain from Russia in exchange for the country returning to international talks. about its nuclear program.
The United States last week urged Pyongyang “not to deliver weapons to Russia that can kill Ukrainians,” and Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor, warned that if it does “it will pay,” which could translate into new sanctions against one of the most secretive countries in the world.
Since the time of the USSR, Moscow has used the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Central Asia. But that is located in the territory of the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, an independent country since 1991. In 2007 Putin decided to build the Vostochny civil cosmodrome in the Russian Far East. Its construction began in 2012 and the first launch took place on April 28, 2016, when a Soyuz 2.1a rocket placed several scientific-educational satellites into Earth orbit.
