North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in Russia, foreign media reported on Tuesday, for what the Kremlin said would be a comprehensive discussion with President Vladimir Putin amid warnings from Washington that they should not agree to a deal. weapons.
Kim left Pyongyang for Russia on Sunday on his private train, the country's state media reported on Tuesday, accompanied by senior military and arms industry officials and the foreign minister.
Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a Russian official, that a train carrying Kim had arrived at Khasan station, the main railway gateway to Russia's Far East from North Korea.
South Korea's Defense Ministry spokesman said he believed Kim had entered Russia early Tuesday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov revealed some details: "It will be a full visit. There will be negotiations between the two delegations and after that, if necessary, the leaders will continue their communication in a face-to-face format."
US officials, who initially said the visit was imminent, claimed that arms talks between Russia and North Korea were actively progressing and that Kim and Putin were likely to discuss providing Russia with weapons for the war in Ukraine .
Pyongyang and Moscow have denied that North Korea would supply weapons to Russia, which has spent large stockpiles of weapons in more than 18 months of war.
Washington and its allies have expressed concern over recent signs of closer military cooperation between Russia and the North. This will be Kim's second summit with Putin, after they met in 2019 on his last trip abroad./abcnews.al