Thousands of North Koreans lined Pyongyang’s wide boulevards on Wednesday, chanting “Welcome, Putin.” They waved Russian and North Korean flags and held bouquets of flowers as Russian President Vladimir Putin began his first visit to North Korea in 24 years.
Putin was greeted with cheers at a welcoming ceremony with Kim Jong Un at Kim Il Sung Square in the heart of the North Korean capital, where mounted soldiers, military personnel and children cheered with balloons against the backdrop of a large portrait of Kim Jong Un. The two leaders.
The two dictators introduced their respective officials and stood side by side as the Russian national anthem played before driving off shoulder to shoulder in an open limousine, smiling and waving to the crowds as they departed.
Putin landed in North Korea early Wednesday local time, his first visit to Pyongyang in 24 years. His visit was a sign that the two countries are growing closer amid a shared hostility toward the West and international concern over the two countries’ growing military cooperation.
Several governments have accused North Korea of supplying weapons to Russia for its brutal war in Ukraine. Both countries deny the allegations, but there is considerable evidence of such deliveries.
In remarks ahead of the two leaders’ meeting, Kim expressed “full support and solidarity with the struggle of the Russian government, military and people,” and specifically referred to Moscow’s war in Ukraine “for its country’s sovereignty” and “to safeguard its security and territorial stability.”
“While the situation remains complex and constantly changing, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that we will continue to strengthen and maintain close strategic communication with the (Russian) leadership,” Kim added.
According to Russian government agency TASS, Putin praised the relationship between the two countries as being based on “equality and mutual respect,” and said the expected new bilateral agreement would “serve as a foundation for long-lasting relations between our two countries.” He also added that he hoped Kim would visit Moscow for their next round of talks.
The close ties have raised concerns in both Seoul and Washington not only about North Korea’s arms sales to Russia but also about the possibility that Russia could use its superior military technology to support North Korea’s heavily sanctioned weapons program.
‘Unwavering support’
Kim, the leader of a third-generation dynastic party that rules North Korea with an iron fist, was visibly beaming as he greeted Putin at the airport early Wednesday, video footage showing the Russian’s arrival showed the leader.
The historic visit is a major boost for Kim, who remains isolated on the world stage because of his illegal arms program and has not welcomed a new leader to the capital since the pandemic.
The visit comes as tensions on the Korean peninsula remain high, with Kim adopting a more aggressive tone in recent months and abandoning a long-standing policy of peaceful unification with South Korea amid Pyongyang’s concerns about closer cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan.
North Korean state media appears to be making great strides in Kim and Putin’s close relationship, describing them as people who “exchange their pent-up innermost thoughts and open their hearts to develop (North Korea-Russia) relations more safely.” They were on their way together by car from the airport to the Kumsusan Guest House, where Putin lives.
Putin’s visit follows Kim’s historic visit to Russia last year, and was widely seen as the start of a new chapter in their relationship, as Putin needs North Korean weapons for continued attacks.
Russia has received more than 10,000 shipping containers worth 260,000 tons of ammunition or ammunition accessories from North Korea since September, a U.S. statement said in February. U.S. officials said in March that the Russian military has also fired at least 10 North Korean missiles toward Ukraine since September.
It is widely believed that the Russian president wants to ensure this continued support, which could be especially urgent as delayed US military aid to Ukraine takes effect.
In remarks before his meeting with Kim, Putin reiterated his gratitude to North Korea for its “consistent and unwavering support” to Russia, including on the Ukraine issue, and for fighting US “hegemonic” and “imperialist” policies. Previous comments have portrayed the two countries as united against the US-led world order.
Putin also sought to link today’s meeting to the historical ties between Moscow and Pyongyang. According to Russian state media TASS, Kim told Kim that the “heroic deeds of previous generations” are a “good basis for the development of relations” between the two countries.
Long story short
The last time Putin visited Pyongyang was in 2000 for talks with Kim’s late father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il. The visit came just a few weeks after Putin began his first term as president, and made him the first Russian leader to visit North Korea.
Kim then visited Moscow in 2001, taking a nine-day marathon train journey across Russia for talks. This was his second trip abroad, following an earlier visit to China.
The two countries also signed a new cooperation agreement in 2000. Unlike the 1961 document between the Soviet Union and North Korea, this new document did not include any reference to mutual military defense assistance, but it was seen as an important step toward restoring Moscow’s tense and close ties with North Korea.
The two neighbors have close ties on the Korean peninsula. Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il-sung, rose to power in the late 1940s as part of a Soviet effort to establish a communist-dominated government in the north to counter a U.S.-backed government in the south after the defeat of the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II.
But tightly integrated relations frayed and transformed in the intervening decades, as the Soviet Union collapsed and the new state of Russia established diplomatic relations with Seoul and supported multiple United Nations sanctions on North Korea’s weapons program.
The latest wave of diplomacy comes at a time when shared grievances against the West have drawn the two countries closer, a trend that observers say has been accelerated by the Ukraine war and given North Korea a powerful friend in the UN Security Council.
In March, Moscow vetoed a UN resolution that would have reinstated independent monitoring of North Korea’s violations of Security Council sanctions, raising concerns that Kim’s control over his illicit weapons program might be weakened at a time when ties between the two countries are burgeoning.
The new agreement, expected this week, will replace earlier treaties made in 2000 and 2001 and other declarations, the Kremlin announced earlier this week.