It’s happening: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of an economic summit in Vladivostok, Russia, this week, a rare public show of diplomacy that could have consequences for both nations.
On Monday morning US time, South Korean officials reported that the heavily armored train that Kim uses to travel internationally was spotted en route to Russia’s Far East. And Monday, the Kremlin confirmed the meeting, saying in a short statement that Kim would visit “in the coming days.”
As Russia continues its war in Ukraine and North Korea develops it nuclear arsenal, the possibility of the two autocrats meeting — and what that could mean for their respective military projects — has raised consternation and concern among Western observers. Though it’s a possibility that in exchange for the ammunition and artillery Russia needs it might agree to share nuclear weapons technology with Kim, that’s really a worst-case scenario and not necessarily the likeliest one. Experts say that economic and trade deals, as well as low-level military cooperation agreements, are more likely to accompany any potential ammo purchases. Regardless, the meeting could signal the beginning of a renewed, closer relationship between the two.
What will this meeting look like?
The Soviet Union and, later, Russia have had a relationship with North Korea since its founding. In recent decades, however, the relationship has been much more about public niceties than substance — especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Kim traveled to Vladivostok in 2019 for a meeting with Putin, but this year’s affair is likelier to yield more public cooperation, and especially military cooperation, between the two pariah nations.
Officially, this is an economic summit; Russia is hosting a multilateral gathering to strengthen economic ties among nations in its orbit, including Laos. Thus far, other details about the Kim-Putin direct…
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