Russian President Vladimir Putin is greeted by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a welcoming ceremony at an airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 19, 2024.
Gavriil Grigorov | Via Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin received a grand reception in North Korea’s Pyongyang on Wednesday, as Western officials raised concerns about the two nuclear powers’ growing ties.
North Korean state television showed the two leaders warmly hugging on a red carpet outside Pyongyang International Airport after Putin landed around 2:45 a.m. local time, beginning his first visit there in 24 years.
The state television report showed the two leaders leaving together in a car, as well as images of Pyongyang streets lined with flags, banners and posters promoting Putin and ties with Russia.
At their first meeting, the Russian and North Korean leaders exchanged their “pent-up innermost thoughts” and agreed to further develop their two nations’ ties, state media KCNA reported.
North Korea’s ruling party’s official newspaper reported on Tuesday that Putin praised Kim Jong Un’s leadership and promised to help develop trade and strengthen security across Eurasia. The article added that it supported the DPRK’s resistance against its “dangerous and aggressive” enemies.
Ahead of the trip, which is expected to last two days, Russian officials had also signaled that the countries could sign a “comprehensive strategic partnership” amid growing ties.
Western countries – which impose heavy sanctions on both Russia and North Korea – have been closely monitoring developments in the visit and its potential impact on Russia’s war in Ukraine and tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a joint news conference on Tuesday that Putin’s trip “confirms the very close ties between Russia and authoritarian states such as North Korea as well as China and Iran.” Stoltenberg made the comments alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
U.S. officials have claimed that Pyongyang has supplied Russia with dozens of ballistic missiles and over 11,000 ammunition containers for its war in Ukraine and that Putin could use his trip to promote more weapons.
“We are of course also concerned about the possible support that Russia is providing to North Korea in supporting its missile and nuclear programs,” Stoltenberg said.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Wednesday, Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea and chairman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agreed that North Korean arms sales to Russia were supported by the Kremlin nuclear program could be responded to.
“The question is how much Putin feels that he needs the ammunition from North Korea to survive and win the war,” Cha said. “That could lower the bar on his willingness to give to North Korea, especially if Kim gets a hard bargain.”.”
Early last year, Kim ordered an “exponential” expansion of his country’s nuclear arsenal and the development of more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles, state media reported.
“The number one provider for this.” [expansion] “It will most likely be Russia,” Cha said. “This is a real problem for the United States…The Ukraine war is about the best thing that could have happened to Kim Jong Un.”
The White House has warned that any Russian aid to North Korea’s weapons programs could have repercussions for South Korea.
On Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said at a news conference that growing ties between Russia and North Korea “should be of great concern to anyone interested in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.” .
However, Cha said the United States’ ability to slow the flow of arms between Russia and Korea may be limited without the threat of outright war.
“[The Biden administration] is giving more public attention to the issue, but on the political side I don’t see any real signs of what they are trying to do about it,” he said.
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2024-06-19 07:13:36
www.cnbc.com
