North Korea’s Kim Jong Un on Friday visited a factory that builds advanced fighter jets in Russia, further fueling global concerns of deepening military ties between the two isolated nations and suggesting Moscow is considering trading its technology for arms it can use in Ukraine.
Kim Jong Un inspects Russian jets.
Kim arrived in the far eastern Russian city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in his armored train on Friday, according to Russian state media.
He received a red carpet welcome at the train station and was greeted by the city’s mayor, Alexander Zhornik, and regional governor Mikhail Degtyarev.
The group then visited two aircraft facilities—the Yuri Gagarin Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant and the Yakovlev plant—both of which are sanctioned by Western countries over the war in Ukraine, according to Reuters.
The Gagarin plant, named after the famed Soviet cosmonaut and first person to fly in space, manufactures advanced warplanes for Russia’s defense ministry, according to Russian state media, while the Yakovlev is building Sukhoi Superjet 100 planes for a civil aviation project.
Kim and the North Korean delegation were escorted by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov at the Gagarin factory, where they watched a demonstration flight of Russia’s Su-35 jet and inspected assembly workshops.
Manturov, who also heads up Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, said Moscow sees the “potential for cooperation both in the field of aircraft construction and in other industries,” according to Reuters’ translation.
Friday marks the third day of Kim’s tour of Russia. Kim’s visit has primarily focused on sites of military and industrial importance, including touring a cosmodrome in Russia’s far east with President Vladimir Putin. Speaking at the cosmodrome on Wednesday, Kim expressed support for Putin and Russia and pledged North Korea’s unwavering support in Russia’s stand against the West. The high tech industries on display during the tour—notably rocketry and satellites at the cosmodrome and the fighter jet at the factory—has fueled speculation Pyongyang is considering arming Moscow for its war in Ukraine, potentially in exchange for sensitive technology it could use in its nuclear missile program, which would be prohibited under United Nations sanctions. The U.S. has warned of swift reprisals and further sanctions for both countries should an arms deal materialize and American and South Korean diplomats have stated any military cooperation would violate UN sanctions, which Russia itself endorsed as a member of the Security Council.
Kim is in Russia at Putin’s invitation and issued a reciprocal invitation at their summit on Wednesday. The Kremlin reportedly confirmed Putin has accepted Kim’s invite to visit Pyongyang, though it is not clear when this trip will occur. Before Putin’s trip is arranged, the Kremlin said Moscow will send foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who last visited in July on the 70th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War. Lavrov’s trip is expected to take place in October.
- That is how many trips Kim has made abroad since he took control of North Korea after his father’s death in 2011, including his current trip to Russia. The rare trip to Russia, his second time meeting Putin, underscores its importance to the North Korean leader and he has only visited China on more occasions. Kim is reportedly paranoid of security threats when traveling abroad and typically, though not always, travels in a luxurious and unhurried armored train that is a noted contrast to the impoverished conditions many endure in North Korea.
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Meets Vladimir Putin In Russia’s Far East (Forbes)
North Korea's Kim inspects sanctioned fighter jet plant in Russian Far East (Reuters)