Team News Riveting
Vladivostok, September 12
The armored train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed into Russia ahead of a rare and closely watched summit with President Vladimir Putin,
Russian Natural Resources and Environment Minister Alexander Kozlov received Kim Jong Un at the Khasan station in the Primorye Region on Tuesday night. “Chairman of the Russian-North Korean Intergovernmental Commission, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Alexander Kozlov received the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [Kim Jong Un] at the Khasan station in the Primorye Region,” a statement issued by the ministry said.
Kozlov wrote on his Telegram channel that Russia and North Korea have been good friends for 75 years. “All these years we have been supporting and helping each other not only as neighbors, but also as close partners,” Kozlov added.
The North Korean state radio Voice of Korea reported that Kim Jong Un left Pyongyang in the afternoon of September 10 on a special train for a visit to Russia. He is accompanied by military, government and ruling party officials on Sunday afternoon, North Korean state media said, adding that this is his first visit abroad in more than four years.
Vesti Primorye reported that Kim could meet Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Amur region on Wednesday, citing heavy security and media presence at a nearby airport.
Experts say Moscow likely seeks artillery shells and antitank missiles from North Korea, which in return could ask for food aid, as well as advanced satellite and nuclear-powered submarine technology.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed tha Russian media that the two leaders would be joined by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during their talks to discuss “sensitive” subjects.
