Joined by his top military officials handling his nuclear-capable weapons and munitions factories, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on Tuesday before an expected meeting with President Vladimir Putin that has sparked concerns about a potential arms deal for Moscow's war in Ukraine.
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim boarded his personal train Sunday afternoon accompanied by unspecified members of the country's ruling party, government and military.South Korea's military assessed the train crossed into Russia sometime early Tuesday, Jeon Ha Gyu, spokesperson of South Korea's Defense Ministry, said in a briefing without elaborating on how the military obtained the information.
The officials include Pak Thae Song, chairman of North Korea's space science and technology committee, and Navy Adm. Kim Myong Sik, who are linked with North Korean efforts to acquire spy satellites and nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines. Experts say North Korea would struggle to acquire such capabilities without external help, although it's not clear if Russia would share such sensitive technologies.
A possible venue where Kim and Putin could meet is the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, where Putin arrived Monday to attend an international forum that runs through Wednesday, according to Russia's TASS news agency. Putin's first meeting with Kim was held in 2019 in the city that's about 425 miles north of Pyongyang.
U.S. officials released intelligence last week that North Korea and Russia were arranging a meeting between their leaders. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington will monitor the meeting closely, reminding both countries that "any transfer of arms from North Korea to Russia would be a violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions," and that the U.S. "will not hesitate to impose new sanctions."
After decades of a complicated, hot-and-cold relationship, Russia and North Korea have been drawing closer since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The bond has been driven by Putin's need for war help and Kim's efforts to boost the visibility of his partnerships with traditional allies Moscow and Beijing as he tries to break out of diplomatic isolation and have North Korea be part of a united front against Washington.