North Korea fires missiles toward sea as Kim travels Russia to meet Putin
President Vladimir Putin. That meeting underscores how the two leaders’ interests are aligning in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the United States. The launch extended a highly provocative run in North Korean weapons testing since the start of 2022, as Kim used the distraction caused by Putin’s war on Ukraine to accelerate his weapons development.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t immediately say how far the North Korean missiles flew. Japan’s Coast Guard, citing Tokyo’s Defence Ministry, said the missiles have likely already landed but still urged vessels to watch for falling objects. For Putin, the meeting with Kim is an opportunity to refill ammunition stores that the 18-month-old war has drained.
For Kim, it’s a chance to get around crippling UN sanctions and years of diplomatic isolation. Kim is expected to seek economic aid and military technology though an arms deal would violate international sanctions that Russia supported in the past. Kim’s personal train stopped in Khasan, a station on the Russia-North Korea border, early Tuesday where it was met by a military honour guard and a brass band.
He was met on a red carpet by regional Governor Oleg Kozhemyako and Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov, according to North Korean state media and video posted on social media. Kim said his decision to visit Russia four years after his previous visit showed how Pyongyang is “prioritizing the strategic importance" of its relations with Moscow, North Korea’s official news agency said Wednesday. The Korean Central News Agency said Kim then left for his destination, but it didn’t specify where.
Read more on livemint.com
