Kim Jong Un has not traveled outside North Korea since the start of the coronavirus pandemic (File)
Seoul:
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s train “appears” to have left for Russia, possibly for a summit with President Vladimir Putin, several South Korean media reported on Monday, citing unidentified officials.
U.S. and other officials told the DailyExpertNews over the weekend that Kim, who rarely leaves North Korea, will likely soon take an armored train to Vladivostok, on Russia’s Pacific coast, for arms talks with President Putin.
“Intelligence agencies believe the train believed to be carrying Kim Jong Un is headed to Vladivostok,” an unidentified official told Yonhap news agency.
Another senior official told Yonhap that Kim Jong “appears” to have left Pyongyang and was heading to Russia.
Kim Jong has not traveled outside North Korea since the start of the corona pandemic.
Broadcaster YTN said Seoul “expects Chairman Kim to hold a meeting with President Putin of Russia the day after tomorrow,” referring to Wednesday.
Moscow, a historic ally of Pyongyang, was a crucial backer of the isolated country for decades and their ties date back to the founding of North Korea 75 years ago.
Kim Jong has been steadfast in his support for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, including, Washington says, supplying missiles.
In July, President Putin praised Pyongyang’s “strong support for special military operations against Ukraine.”
Experts suggest Putin is seeking artillery shells and anti-tank missiles from North Korea, while Kim Jong is reportedly seeking advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, as well as food aid for his impoverished country.
Vladivostok is hosting the Eastern Economic Forum until Wednesday.
The Kremlin has refused to confirm a meeting between President Putin and Kim Jong on the sidelines of the summit, which was attended by 68 countries last year.
‘Pay a price’
The White House warned last week that Pyongyang would “pay a price” if it supplied Moscow with weapons for its war in Ukraine.
Washington said Russia could use weapons from North Korea to attack Ukraine’s food supply and heating infrastructure ahead of winter, to “try to seize territory belonging to another sovereign nation.”
Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Kookmin University in Seoul, told AFP that the possible Putin-Kim summit was part of “soft diplomatic blackmail” by Moscow of Seoul because Russia did not want South Korea to give weapons to Kiev to deliver.
Seoul is a major arms exporter and has sold tanks to Kiev’s ally Poland, but long-standing domestic policy prohibits the country from selling weapons in active conflicts.
“The Russian government’s biggest concern now is a possible shipment of South Korean ammunition to Ukraine, not just one shipment, but a lot of shipments,” Lankov said.
Cheong Seong-chang, a researcher at the Sejong Institute, told AFP that if North Korea expanded military cooperation with Russia, “the likelihood of protracted conflict in Ukraine would be greater.”
And Pyongyang’s reward for helping Moscow could mean that “progress in the development of the North Korean nuclear submarine and reconnaissance satellite could progress at a faster pace,” he said.
Kim Jong has become known for his preference for train travel when it comes to international travel. His father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, was famous for his fear of flying.
The current leader reportedly does not trust his private jet and harbors “concerns about the possibility of aerial bombardment by Washington,” said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
In 2019, he made the 60-hour round-trip journey from Hanoi to Pyongyang by train after a summit with then-US President Donald Trump collapsed, and reportedly hinted at physical fatigue from sitting on the rails for hours.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
