North Korea’s Kim Jong Un ‘to visit Putin for weapons talks’

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Pyongyang: North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un plans to travel to Russia this month to meet President Vladimir Putin, a US official has told the BBC’s US partner CBS.

The two leaders will discuss the possibility of North Korea providing Moscow with weapons to support its war in Ukraine, the official said.

Where talks would be held is not clear.

The Kremlin spokesman had “nothing to say” on the reports, which were also carried by other US media. There was no immediate comment from North Korea.

Sources told the New York Times that Mr Kim was most likely to travel by armoured train.

The possible meeting comes after the White House said it had new information that arms negotiations between the two countries were “actively advancing”.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Russia’s Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, had tried to “convince Pyongyang to sell artillery ammunition” to Russia during a recent visit to North Korea.

Weapons on display at the meeting included the Hwasong intercontinental ballistic missile, believed to be the country’s first ICBM to use solid propellants. It was the first time Mr Kim had opened the country’s doors to foreign guests since the Covid pandemic.

 

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