Kim Jong-uun visits military aviation plant in Russia’s far east

TASS said the plant at Komsomolsk-on-Amur produces Russia’s Sukhoi Su-35 and Su-57 fighter aircraft.

Kim Jong-un peers into the cockpit of Russia’s most advanced fighter at Komsomolsk-on-Amur on Friday. Picture: Reuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived at a Russian industrial city to visit a military aviation factory on Friday, Russian agencies reported, following his summit with President Vladimir Putin.

Historic allies Russia and North Korea are both under a series of global sanctions – Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine last year; Pyongyang for its nuclear tests – and Kim’s visit has sparked concern from Kyiv’s allies over possible arms agreements.

Two days after meeting Mr Putin at a spaceport, Kim’s bulletproof train pulled into Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia’s far east, where he was met with flowers, music, a dance group and ceremonial loaves of bread, the Interfax agency said.

Kim, who rarely leaves his country, is in the key Russian industrial centre to visit a military and civil aviation firm.

While Pyongyang wants Moscow’s help to develop its missile program, US officials and experts have said Russia is interested in buying North Korean ammunition to use in Ukraine.

TASS news agency reported Kim visited an aviation plant named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space. TASS said the plant produces Russia’s Sukhoi Su-35 and Su-57 fighter aircraft. When Kim’s train arrived in Russia on Tuesday – having left Pyongyang on Sunday – the North Korean leader was presented with a signed photo of Gagarin at the border.

On Friday Kim saw the production of the Su-35 and Su-57 and watched a Su-35 demonstration flight.

Kim held talks with Mr Putin at the Vostochny cosmodrome on Wednesday. Mr Putin then said on television that Kim “will visit factories where civilian and combat aviation equipment is produced” in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. He added that Kim would also visit the far east port of Vladivostok to oversee a display of Russian warships. “There is also a military component in Vladivostok … to demonstrate the capabilities of the Pacific Fleet,” Mr Putin told state media.

Kim will visit the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, as well as the Russian Academy of Sciences, including laboratories researching marine biology.

Kim’s far east visit will last a few more days, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

The Kremlin also confirmed that Mr Putin, who has sought to strengthen alliances with other leaders ostracised by the West, had accepted Kim’s invitation to visit North Korea.

At their summit, they exchanged rifles, and Mr Putin also gifted the North Korean leader a glove from a space suit that has been to space several times.

Mr Peskov said Moscow will “quickly prepare” to send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Pyongyang – with his trip expected next month – before arranging a Putin visit. It would be Mr Putin’s second trip to North Korea. He met Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, in Pyongyang in July 2000, shortly after becoming President.

Kim’s visit to Russia is his first official trip abroad since the Covid-19 pandemic.

After the summit, Mr Putin told reporters he saw “possibilities” for military co-operation.

Western countries warned Moscow and Pyongyang against making an arms deal as the conflict in Ukraine grinds on.

The White House said on Thursday that US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had spoken with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts to discuss the Putin-Kim meeting. They noted any arms exports from North Korea to Russia “would directly violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions, including resolutions that Russia itself voted to adopt”, the White House said.

AFP