This is the moment North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia for his meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Authorities rolled out the red carpet for the politician and ally to the Kremlin as he disembarked his bulletproof armoured train in the city of Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far East.
Footage showed flustered aides running around as a smiling Kim stepped on the red carpet, instantly being greeted by Russian officials.
What was expected to be a rare meeting between two authoritarian rulers, driven together by their need for support in escalating standoffs with the West, was a bit of a let down in the end.
Russia’s president was nowhere to be seen in the crowd, instead sending one of his ministers.
State TV later reported that the natural resources minister, Alexander Kozlov, met with Kim instead on arrival.
He is expected to seek economic aid and military technology for his impoverished country.
In an unusual twist, it appears that he has something his Russian counterpart desperately needs: munitions for Russia’s grueling war in Ukraine.
This meeting is a chance for the North Korean leader to get around crippling U.N. sanctions and years of diplomatic isolation.
For Putin, it is an opportunity to refill ammunition stores that the war has drained.
Footage released by Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of Russia’s far eastern Primorsky region, showed Kim, sat in a big white chair, talking with a delegation led by Kozlov.
‘It will be a fully fledged visit,’ Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
‘There will be negotiations between two delegations, and after that, if necessary, the leaders will continue their communication in a one-on-one format.’
Discussions could cover humanitarian aid to North Korea and the U.N. Security Council resolutions imposed against Pyongyang, Russian officials said.
US officials, who first said the visit was imminent, said arms talks between the two were actively advancing and that they were likely to discuss providing Russia with weapons for the war in Ukraine.
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