North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected Russia's nuclear-capable bombers and a warship in its Pacific fleet on Saturday as he continued a trip in Russia’s Far East that has sparked Western concerns about an arms alliance that could fuel Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
After arriving in the city of Artyom by train, Kim traveled to an airport just outside the port city of Vladivostok where Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other senior military officials gave him an up-close look at Russia’s strategic bombers and other warplanes.
All the types of Russian warplanes shown to Kim on Saturday were among those that have seen active use in the war in Ukraine, including the Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers that have regularly launched cruise missiles.
Shoigu, who had met Kim during a rare visit to North Korea in July, also showed Kim 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, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry.
Kim and Shoigu later traveled to Vladivostok, where they inspected the Admiral Shaposhnikov frigate of Russia's Pacific fleet. Russia’s navy commander, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, briefed the North Korean leader on the ship’s capabilities and weapons, which include long-range Kalibr cruise missiles that Russian warships have regularly fired at targets in Ukraine.
Kim’s visit to Vladivostok was another possible hint at what he wants from Russia, perhaps in exchange for supplying munitions to refill Putin’s declining reserves as his invasion of Ukraine becomes a drawn-out war of attrition, The Associated Press reported.
Kim’s visit to Russia, which included more than four hours of talks with Putin on Wednesday, comes amid momentum in military cooperation between the countries in which North Korea could potentially seek Russian technologies to advance Kim’s nuclear, missile and other military programs in exchange for providing Russia with badly needed munitions.
Videos released by Russia’s Defense Ministry showed Shoigu greeting Kim at the airport along with honor guards lined up near a red carpet, and Kim gesturing and asking questions about the warplanes' capabilities as he discussed technical details with Shoigu and other military officials through translators.
In the ministry’s videos, Kim was seen peering at the Kinzhal missile and also talking to Shoigu and Yevmenov about a purported nuclear attack submarine the North unveiled last week.
The visit follows Kim’s tour on Friday of a factory producing advanced Russian warplanes.
