Vladivostok, Russia:
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected Russian strategic bombers, hypersonic missiles and nuclear-capable warships on Saturday, accompanied by President Vladimir Putin’s defense minister.
A smiling Kim Jong Un was greeted at Russia’s Knevichi airport, about 30 miles from the Pacific port city of Vladivostok, by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who saluted him. The North Korean leader then inspected a guard of honor.
The United States and South Korea fear that the revival of Moscow’s friendship with Pyongyang could give Kim access to some of Russia’s sensitive missile and other technology while helping arm Russia in its war in Ukraine.
Sergei Shoigu showed off Kim Russia’s strategic bombers – the Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 – which can carry nuclear weapons and form the backbone of Russia’s nuclear air strike force, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“It can fly from Moscow to Japan and then back again,” Sergei Shoigu Kim said of one plane.
Kim Jong Un asked how the missiles were fired from the plane, sometimes nodding and smiling.
Mr. Shoigu showed him the MiG-31I supersonic interceptor aircraft equipped with “Kinzhal” hypersonic missiles. The Kinzhal, or dagger, is an air-launched ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads.
It has a reported range of 1,500 to 2,000 km (930-1,240 miles) while carrying a payload of 480 kg (1,100 pounds). It can travel at a speed of up to ten times the speed of sound (12,000 km/h).
Russia’s ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, told reporters that Kim’s program was “very intense” and that it was not yet clear how long he would stay in Russia, Russia’s state news agency RIA reported.
Kim visits the Russian Pacific Fleet
After the planes and missiles, Kim inspected the frigate “Marshal Shaposhnikov” of the Russian Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok and saw a demonstration of modern missile control systems, RIA said.
South Korea and the United States said Friday that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia would violate U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang and that the allies would ensure that a price would be paid.
Russia has gone out of its way to publicize Kim’s visit and provide repeated hints about the prospect of military cooperation with North Korea, which was formed in 1948 with the support of the Soviet Union.
For Vladimir Putin, who says Moscow is locked in an existential battle with the West over Ukraine, courting Kim allows him to screw Washington and its Asian allies while securing a large supply of artillery for the war in Ukraine .
Washington has accused North Korea of supplying weapons to Russia, which has the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear warheads, but it is unclear whether any deliveries have actually taken place.
Kim on Friday inspected a Russian fighter jet factory that is under Western sanctions.
He and President Putin discussed military affairs, the war in Ukraine and deepening cooperation during their meeting on Wednesday. Vladimir Putin told reporters that Russia “would not violate anything” but would continue to develop relations with North Korea.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters there was no plan to sign formal agreements during the visit.
Russian diplomats said Washington had no right to lecture Moscow after the United States supported its allies around the world, including a visit by a U.S. nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine to South Korea in July.
While in Vladivostok, Kim watched the first act of the ballet “Sleeping Beauty,” performed at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, RIA news agency reported.
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