Page 8 - Kim Jong Un

Kim presents steps to boost Russia ties as US, Seoul warn on weapons deals

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered unspecified steps to further develop relations with Russia after his recent visit to the country as his foreign rivals warn that any cooperation on military weapons would be dangerous and bring consequences. Experts speculated North Korea and Russia likely discussed banned arms transfer deals and other cooperation measures during Kim's six-day trip last week. They say the two countries are serious about sharply boosting their ties while they are engaged in separate confrontations with the West. During a Politburo meeting on Wednesday, Kim arranged for work to be done on further developing bilateral ties at "a new high level at the practical stage" to consolidate "the success" of his Russia trip, the official Korean Central News Agency said Friday. Kim underscored the need to expand bilateral cooperation in every field, making a substantial contribution to the promotion of the well-being of the people of the two countries, KCNA said. While ...

Kim Jong Un back from Russia, where he deepened comradely ties: N Korea

North Korea said on Tuesday that leader Kim Jong Un has returned home from a trip to Russia where he deepened comradely fellowship and friendly ties with President Vladimir Putin. During Kim's six-day trip to Russia, his longest foreign travel as a leader, the two countries said they discussed boosting their defense ties but didn't disclose any specific steps. Foreign experts speculate the two countries, both locked in confrontations with the West, were pushing to reach arms transfer deals in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. The official Korean Central News Agency said Kim's train crossed a border river on Monday morning, but didn't say whether he headed to the capital, Pyongyang, or elsewhere inside the country. Before travelling to Russia, Kim made several visits to his munitions factories, triggering speculation that he intended to check on productions of arms to be shipped to Russia. While travelling through Russia's far eastern region, Kim met Putin at Russia's mo

Kim Jong Un discussed arms cooperation with Russian minister: N Korea media

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held discussions with Russia's defence minister on strengthening strategic and tactical coordination between the countries' militaries, the North's state media said Sunday, as Kim continued a visit to Russia's Far East that has raised concerns about an arms alliance that would fuel Moscow's war on Ukraine. The talks with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu came after Kim on Friday was shown some of Russia's most advanced weapons systems deployed for its war on Ukraine, including nuclear-capable bombers and hypersonic missiles, and a key warship of its Pacific fleet, the Korean Central News Agency said. Kim's trip, highlighted by a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, has underscored how their interests are aligning in the face of separate, intensifying confrontations with the West. US and South Korean officials have said North Korea could provide badly needed munitions for Putin's war on Ukraine in exchange for sophisticated Russian .

Kim inspects Russian nuclear-capable bombers on visit to country's far east

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived Saturday at a Russian city near the far eastern port of Vladivostok where he's expected to see Russia's Pacific Fleet. The visit follows Kim's talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny spaceport on Wednesday and his visit Friday to an aircraft-making plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The US and it allies are concerned that Kim's visit is focused on providing Moscow with weapons for its war in Ukraine in a possible arms-for-technology deal.

Kim stops to see fighter jet plant as Russia, N Korea warned off arms deals

Kim Jong Un arrived Friday in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in far eastern Russia and is expected to visit a plant that builds fighter jets as South Korea has said it's concerned his visit is focused on expanding military cooperation in a possible arms-for-technology deal. The visit to Komsomolsk-on-Amur is one of several the North Korean leader is making on a days-long trip to Russia. Arriving on an armoured train from North Korea, he rolled into Russia on Tuesday and was met by officials at a station near the Russia-North Korea border. After a long train trip north, on Wednesday he met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome and was greeted by Putin with a 40-second handshake. On Thursday, he largely disappeared from view, before reappearing local time Friday as his convoy swept out of Komsomolsk-on-Amur station. Putin told Russian state TV after the summit that Kim will travel to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where he will visit an aircraft plant, and then go to Vladivostok to v

Why North Korea's Kim Jong Un prefers trains over planes

North Korea's Kim Jong Un has a penchant for travelling by train, a tradition deeply rooted in his family's history. But why does Kim Jong Un prefer trains over planes? Watch the video to find out

S Korea expresses concern, regret over Kim-Putin military cooperation talks

South Korea on Thursday expressed deep concern and regret over a meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin that was apparently focused on expanding military cooperation as the two isolated, nuclear-armed leaders align over their escalating confrontations with the United States. Washington has warned that the summit on Wednesday between Kim and Putin could lead to a deal to supply ammunition for Moscow's war in Ukraine. There's widespread concern in Seoul that the North in return would receive advanced weapons technologies from Russia, including those related to military spy satellites, which would increase the threat posed by Kim's military nuclear program. We express our deep concern and regret that despite repeated warnings from the international community, North Korea and Russia discussed military cooperation issues, including satellite development, during their summit, said Lim Soo-suk, South Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesperson. Any

Vladimir Putin accepts invitation from Kim Jong Un to visit North Korea

"Putin accepted the invitation with pleasure and reaffirmed his will to invariably carry forward the history and tradition of the Russia-DPRK friendship," the report said

Kim Jong Un's Russia trip provides window into media coverage of 2 nations

The world is largely relying on North Korean and Russian media for information about the unusual train journey of leader Kim Jong Un to meet with President Vladimir Putin at a space facility. While news gathering is, to varying degrees, constrained by both authoritarian governments, the coverage by the countries' respective media this week is providing a window into the neighbours' unique news environments and how the summit is being presented to people in North Korea and Russia. The coverage shown to North Koreans is meant, like all media efforts there, to reflect the government's propaganda needs. The country's reporters have no higher aim than glorifying Kim for Koreans and the world. But Kim's trip to Russia, where foreign and local media have more access and leeway than in Pyongyang, has challenged how the North Korean media portray one of Kim's most important diplomatic moves in years. There are no independent television channels left in Russia since Putin invaded Ukraine, an

Kim vows support for Russia's 'just fight' during summit with Putin

North Korea may have tens of millions of aging artillery shells and rockets based on Soviet designs that could give a huge boost to the Russian army in Ukraine

Putin discusses military matters, Ukraine war with N Korea's Kim Jong Un

Putin showed Kim around Russia's most advanced space rocket launch site in Russia's Far East and discussed the possibility of sending a North Korean cosmonaut into space

Kim's meeting with Putin at spaceport may hint at space, weapons ambitions

Ending a global guessing game on when and where they would meet, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin convened at a rocket launch facility in Siberia on Wednesday in their first summit in four years. The talks between the two isolated, nuclear-armed leaders were expected to focus on expanding military cooperation amid their intensifying confrontations with the West. The decision to meet at Vostochny Cosmodrome, a major satellite launch facility, may communicate what Kim sees as the crucial next steps in his efforts to build a viable nuclear arsenal that could threaten the United States and its allies in Asia. Dangling North Korea's vast stockpiles of munitions Putin likely covets for his war in Ukraine, Kim in exchange could ask for badly needed economic aid and sophisticated weapons technologies to advance his military nuclear programme, experts say. Kim could push for Russian technology transfers on military reconnaissance satellites, a key asset o

Kim concludes one-on-one talks with Putin at Russian space launch base

One-on-one talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have ended, Russia's state news agency Tass reported Wednesday. The meeting of the two leaders at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Siberia followed wider talks between delegations headed by the two leaders. Before the talks, the two leaders toured some of the facilities of the strategic spaceport. In remarks before the private meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday his country's full and unconditional support for Russia's sacred fight to defend its security interests, in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine, and said Pyongyang will always stand with Moscow on the anti-imperialist front.

Russia to help North Korea build satellites, says President Vladimir Putin

Kim arrived at Vostochny by train, after crossing into Russia early on Tuesday

Putin gives Kim Jong Un tour of rocket launch center as leaders meet

The leaders of Russia and North Korea met at a remote Siberian rocket launch facility for a summit that underscores how the two leaders' interests are aligning in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the United States. The two men began their meeting with a tour of a Soyuz-2 space rocket launch facility, at which North Korean leader Kim Jong Un peppered Russian President Vladimir Putin with questions about the rockets. The meeting came hours after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles toward the sea, extending a highly provocative run in North Korean weapons testing since the start of 2022, as Kim used the distraction caused by Putin's war on Ukraine to accelerate his weapons development. The leaders' decision to meet at Vostochny Cosmodrome, a major satellite launch facility, suggests that Kim is seeking Russian technical assistance in his efforts to develop military reconnaissance satellites, which he has described as crucial in enhancing the threat of h

Kim in Russia to meet Putin, with both locked in standoffs with the West

North Korea's Kim Jong Un rolled through Russia on an armoured train on Tuesday toward a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, a rare encounter between isolated leaders driven together by their need for support in escalating standoffs with the West. Kim is expected to seek economic aid and military technology for his impoverished country, and, in a twist, appears to have something Putin desperately needs: munitions for Russia's gruelling war in Ukraine. It's a chance for the North Korean leader to get around crippling UN sanctions and years of diplomatic isolation. For Putin, it's an opportunity to refill ammunition stores that the war has drained. Any arms deal with North Korea would violate the sanctions, which Russia supported in the past. Kim's personal train stopped in Khasan, a station on the Russia-North Korea border, where it was met by a military honour guard and a brass band, according to video posted on social media channels. He was met on a red carpet by regional Gov.

Kim is in Russia ahead of meeting with Putin as their nations draw closer

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has departed for Russia where he is expected to hold a highly anticipated meeting with President Vladimir Putin that has sparked Western concerns about a potential arms deal for Moscow's war in Ukraine. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said on Tuesday that Kim boarded his personal train from the capital, Pyongyang, on Sunday afternoon, and that he will be accompanied by unspecified members of the country's ruling party, government and military. State media photos showed Kim walking pass honour guards and crowds of civilians holding the national flag and flowers and waving his hand from his green-and-yellow armoured train before it left the station in Pyongyang. A group of senior officials, including Cabinet Premier Kim Tok Hun, Kim Jong Un's top economic official, were at the station to give the leader a hearty send-off", KCNA said. KCNA did not specify whether the train had crossed the border. A brief statement on the Kremlin's ..

North Korea's Kim Jong Un hosts Chinese and Russian guests at a parade

North Korea invited visiting Chinese delegates and Russian artists to a paramilitary parade featuring rocket launchers pulled by trucks and tractors, state media said Saturday, in leader Kim Jong Un's latest effort to display his ties with Moscow and Beijing in the face of deepening confrontations with Washington. The midnight parade in the capital, Pyongyang, which was to celebrate North Korea's 75th founding anniversary, came amid expectations that Kim will travel to Russia soon for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that could focus on North Korean arm sales to refill reserves drained by the Kremlin's war on Ukraine. While China has sent a delegation led by Vice Premier Liu Guozhong to the North Korea's anniversary celebrations, Russia sent a military song and dance group. South Korean media speculated that the lack of Russian government officials at the festivities in Pyongyang could be related to preparations for a summit between Kim and Putin, which Washington expects ...

Launched a new nuclear attack submarine to counter US naval power: N Korea

North Korea said Friday it has launched a purported nuclear attack submarine it has been developing for years, a step leader Kim Jong Un described as crucial in his efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy to counter the United States and its Asian allies. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the vessel named "Hero Kim Kun Ok" is designed to launch tactical nuclear weapons from underwater but did not specify the number of missiles it could carry and fire. In his speeches at the vessel's launching ceremony on Wednesday and an onboard inspection on Thursday, Kim expressed satisfaction that the country has acquired its own nuclear attack submarine to counter the advanced naval assets of the US, KCNA said. In July, the US docked a nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine in South Korea for the first time since the 1980s. Kim said the country is also pursuing a nuclear-propelled submarine and plans to remodel its existing submarines and surface vessels so that they coul

China sends delegation to North Korea as nations foster their ties

A Chinese delegation led by Vice-Premier Liu Guozhong will visit North Korea to participate in celebrations for its 75th founding anniversary, which is on Saturday, the North's state media said Thursday. The report came amid speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is preparing to visit Russia soon for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that could be focused on advancing talks for North Korean arms sales to refill Russian reserves drained by its war on Ukraine. Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said the visit by Liu's delegation comes at the invitation of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party. It didn't specify the events the Chinese officials would be participating or whether they would be meeting Kim. A U.S. official said Monday that Washington expects Kim to make a trip to Russia within this month to meet Putin as the Kremlin tries to acquire military equipment for use in its war in Ukraine. According to some U.S. reports, the meeting could happe