For several days the entire world wondered where the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un would take place. The President of the Russian Federation was in the Far East these days, where he flew to participate in the Eastern Economic Forum. There were suggestions that the DPRK leader would also travel to Vladivostok. As a result, the paths of the heads of state converged in the Amur region, at the Vostochny cosmodrome.
Kim Jong-un, according to tradition, arrived at the location on his letter train. The delivery of the 19-car train was a precision operation. First, from one of them, along a specially installed ramp, it was necessary to unload two cars of the North Korean leader, and then, in the limited maneuvering space of the locomotive, move the necessary door to the walkway with a red carpet. , where the head of the DPRK abandoned his carriage.
Moscow will develop relations with Pyongyang, despite reproaches from third countries
Vladimir Putin, after receiving the guest near the main entrance to the launch vehicle assembly and testing building, asked him how the trip was going. Kim Jong-un thanked him for the invitation to visit Russia and the warm welcome provided. “I’m very glad to see you,” the Russian president said.
Subsequently, the Russian delegation tried to fully satisfy the North Korean leader’s interest in missiles. They showed him the assembly and testing body of the launch vehicle of the Angara space rocket complex, told him that its modular nature allows the assembly of rockets of different classes, and separately presented the capabilities of the Soyuz-2. Kim Jong-un was very interested in the technical characteristics of the missiles, their parameters, the power of their engines and the payload they could carry. Questions arose about the characteristics of rocket fuel, the principles of its movement and where the spent stages are located.
The inspection of other Vostochny objects continued in the same way. First, the North Korean leader was explained in detail how the Soyuz-2 rocket launch complex works, and then he was shown the Angara launch pad under construction.
At the command post of the cosmodrome, the guests were explained how space launches are controlled. 15 missiles have already been launched from Vostochny. Vladimir Putin spoke of a new airfield with a 3,200-meter-long runway. “Any plane can fit in it. This is simply an airfield to receive all types of ships, and I am sure that we will also expect a good flow of tourists here,” shared the Russian leader.
The impressions of what the North Korean leader saw will forever be written in ink in the book of honored guests of the cosmodrome. “Russia’s glory as the country of the first space explorers will never fade,” wrote Kim Jong-un.
If space rockets are something that the DPRK does not yet have, the head of the Republic of Korea was able to personally experience the new product of the Russian automobile industry. Vladimir Putin invited him to sit in his Aurus limousine. They sat together in the back seat for a few minutes and then continued the conversation standing up.
This is the second personal meeting between the two leaders; Before, Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia in April 2019 and then negotiations took place in Vladivostok. The current visit was official. Vladimir Putin invited guests to take advantage of the upcoming meeting to discuss economic cooperation, humanitarian cooperation and the situation in the Korean region. “We have many questions,” he said when opening negotiations. On the Russian side, among others, Deputy Prime Ministers Marat Khusnullin and Alexey Overchuk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and Minister of Transport Vitaly Savelyev attended. .
The Russian President noted that the meeting is taking place at a special time. Recently, the DPRK celebrated the 75th anniversary of its creation and Moscow was the first to recognize a sovereign state and helped fight for independence. “Very soon we will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the war of independence and the victory of the Korean people in this war,” Putin recalled.
For the DPRK, relations with Russia are today the first priority, said Kim Jong-un. He is confident that this meeting will raise cooperation between the two states to a new level. “We have many problems, including politics, economy and culture,” the North Korean leader said. Pyongyang has always supported and supports all the decisions of the president and the Russian government, assured the head of the Republic of Korea. According to him, Russia has now risen to defend its sovereignty and security. “I hope we will always be together in the fight against imperialism,” added Kim Jong Un.
The negotiations were developed first in an expanded format, with the participation of members of the delegations, and then in a face-to-face format. “We discussed in depth the political-military situation on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe,” said Kim Jong-un. In his words, the parties “came to a common opinion on strengthening interaction and supporting solidarity in the struggle for the protection of the sovereign right to security.”
After the leaders completed their face-to-face communication, Vladimir Putin hosted an official dinner in honor of the DPRK leader. The menu for North Korean guests offered authentic Far Eastern dishes, including meatballs with Kamchatka crab, grass carp soup, sturgeon with mushrooms and potatoes, and for dessert, taiga lingonberries with pine nuts and condensed milk were served.
At the cosmodrome, Kim Jong-un became very interested in the technical characteristics of the rockets, their parameters and the power of their engines.
“Our relations were founded during Korea’s struggle for freedom in 1945, when Soviet and Korean soldiers shoulder-to-shoulder crushed the Japanese militarists. Today we strive to strengthen the direction of comradeship and good neighborliness, acting in the name of peace, stability and prosperity in our common region,” Putin said at an official dinner.
He added that Kim Jong-un is following the path of former North Korean leaders who advocated close relations with the Russian Federation. According to him, the current North Korean leader is a successor to the work of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, who were “sincere and true friends” of Russia. Putin also cited proverbs from the two countries. “In Korea there is a proverb: ‘New clothes are good, but old friends are good.’ And among our people they say: ‘One old friend is better than two new ones,'” he noted. He added that this popular wisdom is totally applicable. to modern relationship states.
The Russian president toasted the strengthening of friendship between the Russian Federation and the DPRK, and the North Korean leader toasted the health of Vladimir Putin and “new victories for great Russia.” Kim Jong-un is convinced that the Russian army will cope with the tasks of the special operation and the Russian authorities will manage to build a strong state. “From the first moment I entered Russian soil, I felt the fighting spirit and reality boiling, and became a direct witness of the significant achievements of the Russian people in building a strong and modern Russia under the leadership of Comrade Putin “he said at an official dinner.
The entire program of the meeting between both leaders lasted approximately six hours. After seeing off the guest, Putin called the negotiations productive. “It is a good and productive beginning. There was a very frank exchange of opinions about the situation in the region, about bilateral relations,” the president said in an interview with the Russia-1 channel’s 60 Minutes program.
According to him, Russia and the DPRK intend to develop cooperation in the transport, agriculture and other sectors. “We have many interesting projects. If you remember a few things: these are transport links, logistics,” Putin noted. He mentioned the resumption of work at the seaport, where “a very good logistical triangle can be created: railway, port and highway to China.” “Here it is possible to significantly increase the volume of transportation, which is very important in general,” the president said.
Putin also highlighted the extensive program of Kim Jong-un’s current visit. In addition to the new cosmodrome, the head of the DPRK will visit other large high-tech centers, industrial enterprises and innovation centers in the Russian Far East. “From here he still goes to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, he will visit the factories where aviation equipment is produced, both civil and military. Then he will be in Vladivostok, and there is also a military unit there, through the Ministry of Defense. “It is about simply to demonstrate the capabilities of the Pacific Fleet,” said the Russian president.
In addition, Kim Jong-un must visit the Far Eastern Federal University, the facilities of the Academy of Sciences and a laboratory that deals with marine biology. And the Primorye authorities hope to launch joint projects with the DPRK in the tourism, agriculture and construction sectors this year. This was stated by the head of the region, Oleg Kozhemyako, who met with the leader of the DPRK at the Khasan border station the day before.
In turn, presidential press secretary Dmitri Peskov said that the leaders also discussed the possibilities of cooperation in the space field. Moscow will develop relations with Pyongyang, despite reproaches from third countries, Peskov said. “And this should not bother anyone. Because we cooperate for the sake of the prosperity of the two countries and peoples of our country, and not against anyone,” added the Kremlin representative. According to him, Moscow intends to intensify cooperation with Pyongyang in all areas.
