North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected Russia’s Pacific fleet and warplanes on the fourth day of his visit to Russia, raising concerns over potential military cooperation between the two nations.
Mr. Kim, along with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, toured the Knevichi airfield in Vladivostok on Sept. 16, where he was shown Russia’s strategic bombers, including the Tu-160, Tu-95, and Tu-22 bombers.
Mr. Shoigu, who had met Mr. Kim during a rare visit to North Korea in July, also showed the North Korean leader one of Russia’s latest missiles, the hypersonic Kinzhal, carried by the MiG-31 fighter jet, that saw its first combat during the war in Ukraine.
They later traveled to Vladivostok where Mr. Kim inspected Russia’s Pacific fleet frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov and was briefed about the frigate’s capabilities and weapons.
The North Korean leader also visited aviation facilities in the far eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur on Sept. 15, including the Yuri Gagarin Aviation Plant, which has been subject to U.S. sanctions.
North Korean state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Mr. Kim was “deeply impressed” with the Russian aircraft manufacturing industry and hopes that the plant will achieve “higher production growth” in the future.
While there, Mr. Kim had the chance to meet with test pilots, boarded a Su-57 fighter jet to hear detailed explanations about its technical specifications, and watched a test flight of the fighter jet, KCNA stated.
South Korea Warns Russia of Consequences
South Korea’s National Security Council has warned North Korea and Russia that they would face consequences if they were to breach United Nations Security Council resolutions through military cooperation.“North Korea and Russia will clearly pay the price if they are involved in any acts that pose a significant threat to our security by violating the U.N. Security Council resolutions,” it said, Yonhap News Agency (YNA) reported.
South Korean Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said his country would discuss with the United States and other nations on response measures if Russia and North Korea enter a military agreement.
Mr. Lim said that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia could negatively impact the relationship between South Korea and Russia, but he did not elaborate, YNA reported.
Mr. Putin told reporters on Sept. 15 that Russia seeks to build “good neighborly relations” with North Korea but that they “are not going to violate anything.” Russia’s government said the two leaders had not signed any agreements.
“Yes, there are certain specifics associated with the Korean Peninsula. We discuss this openly; we never violate anything; and in this case, we are not going to violate anything,” he said.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States maintains its position that “talks about the provision of weapons by North Korea to Russia to kill Ukrainians have been advancing and continue to advance.”
“We’re not going to take their word for that or basically anything they say. We'll see what actually ends up happening,” he told reporters on Sept. 15.
The summit between the leaders of Russia and North Korea, both of which have become increasingly isolated internationally, is being watched closely by Washington and its allies, who suspect they could agree to trade arms and defense technology.
Mr. Sullivan said on Sept. 6 that Moscow is seeking support from North Korea because “we have continued to squeeze Russia’s defense industrial base, and they are now going about looking to whatever source they can find for things like artillery ammunition.”
