North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday at a summit designed to show that Washington is not the only power able to set the agenda on Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
“WE CAN MAKE A GOOD DEAL”
The two men embarked on a day of talks on an island off the Russian Pacific city of Vladivostok two months after Kim’s summit with Donald Trump ended in disagreement, cooling hopes of a breakthrough in the decades-old nuclear row.
Putin and Kim, in their first ever face-to-face encounter, smiled broadly and shook hands outside the summit venue, a university campus. They then stood side by side on an escalator, chatting with help from interpreters, as they made their way to an upper floor to begin their talks.
In brief opening remarks in front of the media, Putin said he hoped Kim’s visit would “help us better understand by what means we can reach a settlement on the Korean peninsula, what we can do together, what Russia can do to support the positive processes now underway.” “Without question we welcome your efforts to develop dialogue between the Koreas, and to normalize North Korean US relations,” Putin said.
Kim, who had arrived in Vladivostok a day earlier on board his armored train, told Putin the meeting would help strengthen and develop ties between Russia and North Korea, which share a long history of friendship.
“As world attention is focused on the Korean Peninsula, there will be very meaningful dialogue for us to jointly assess the Korean peninsula policies and share, coordinate and study our views,” Kim said.
Putin said he is expected to discuss the settlement on the Korean Peninsula at the meeting as well as the development of the trade relations between the two countries. “We welcome your efforts to develop inter-Korean dialogue and to normalize North Korean-US relations,” Putin said. The two leaders also congratulated each other with re-election.
“I came to Russia to exchange views on the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, which is one of the most pressing issues on the current international agenda, as well as to discuss methods of peaceful settlement of this issue and exchange views on the development of our bilateral relations in accordance with the requirements of the new century,” Kim said.
This is the first visit of North Korean leader to Russia since 2011. It is also the first meeting of Putin and Kim.