Kim and Putin vow closer ties at first talks
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia: Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un met face-to-face for the first time on Thursday, vowing to seek closer ties as they look to counter US influence.
The summit in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok came with Kim locked in a nuclear stand-off with Washington and Putin keen to put Moscow forward as a player in another global flashpoint.
The two leaders shook hands and shared smiles before heading into one-on-one talks that lasted nearly two hours, longer than expected, on an island off the Pacific coast city.
In brief statements before their meeting, both men said they were looking to strengthen ties that date back to the Soviet Union’s support for the founder of North Korea, Kim’s grandfather Kim Il Sung.
Kim said he hoped to turn the modern relationship with Moscow into a ‘more stable and sound one’ while Putin said the visit would give a boost to diplomatic and economic ties.
As the talks expanded to include other officials, Kim thanked Putin for ‘a very good’ meeting.
“We have just had a very meaningful exchange of views on issues of mutual interest,” he said.
Putin said the talks had been ‘rather detailed’ but neither leader said much about their substance.
The meeting was Kim’s first one-onone talks with another head of state since returning from his Hanoi summit with US President Donald Trump, which broke down without a deal on North Korea’s nuclear arsenal in February.
Among the issues likely to be on the table was the fate of some 10,000 North Korean labourers working in Russia and due to leave by the end of this year under sanctions.
Labour is one of North Korea’s key exports and sources of cash.
Pyongyang has reportedly asked Russia to continue to employ its workers after the deadline.
Kim, whose government has told the United Nations it is facing food shortfalls this year, will also be keen to see Moscow continue or boost its aid.
Russia has provided some US$25 million in food aid to North Korea in recent years, according to the Kremlin.
One delivery in March saw more than 2,000 tonnes of wheat supplied to the port of Chongjin, news agency TASS reported.