Kim and Putin meet at remote Russian space center ahead of expected weapons talks

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin met at a remote space launch site in Russia’s far east on September 13, ahead of anticipated arms talks and just hours after North Korea launched two ballistic missiles into waters off the Korean Peninsula.

The face-to-face meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome is seen as a significant development, bringing together two leaders who are increasingly isolated on the world stage and coming amid Russia’s protracted and faltering war on Ukraine and crippling UN sanctions, CNN reports.

Video released by the Kremlin Wednesday showed the two leaders shaking hands while images show both the Russian and North Korean flags flying outside the cosmodrome building.

Kim arrived in Russia on Tuesday, state media reported, aboard his heavily-armoured private train accompanied by party leaders, including a top military official in charge of the country’s ballistic missile programs, according to photos shared by North Korean state media.

During a stop at the border town Khasan Tuesday, where Kim was welcomed by Russian officials, the North Korean leader said his trip to Russia was a “clear manifestation” of North Korea “prioritizing the strategic importance” of Moscow-Pyongyang relations, state media reported.

Asked whether Russia will help North Korea build satellites, Putin was quoted by Russian state media as saying “that’s why we have come here. The DPRK leader shows keen interest in rocket technology. They’re trying to develop space, too,” using the abbreviation for North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Asked about military cooperation, Putin said “we will talk about all issues without a rush. There is time.”

Russian media outlet Gazeta.ru reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have inspected the Soyuz-2 launch complex at the Vostochny cosmodrome.

This launch complex is designed to receive launch vehicles, pre-launch preparation, and launch. Its area exceeds 44 thousand square metres.

In addition, Putin and Kim Jong-un familiarised themselves with the construction progress of the Angara launch complex, the erection of which began in May 2019. The leaders of the two countries inspected the new launch pad from a special viewing platform. The facility will make it possible to implement programmes to explore the solar system and space beyond it in the East.

As the two leaders were gearing up for the expected summit, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles from the Sunan area between 11:43 a.m. and 11:53 a.m. local time, into the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

Analysts say it’s unusual for Pyongyang to conduct a launch while Kim is out of the country and could be “intended to show that the military maintains readiness with uninterrupted command and control,” according to Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

US officials have repeatedly warned that North Korea and Russia were “actively advancing” arms negotiations, which could lead to Pyongyang selling weapons to Russia in exchange for sanctioned ballistic missile technology.

Moscow in need of fresh supplies of ammunition and shells after more than 18 months of war in Ukraine has left its military battered, while North Korea, which has faced years of international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, is short of everything from hard cash and food to missile technology.

Space technology is also a priority for North Korea, which has repeatedly tried and failed to launch a spy satellite into orbit. Kim has also stressed the role of military satellites as a means to protect national safety and territorial stability and has spoken of their strategic value when deploying military force preemptively, KCNA said in April.