President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia met with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, in his first visit to the country in nearly a quarter-century on Wednesday, as the two autocrats vowed to build a joint front against the United States and deepen bilateral ties that Washington fears will include more arms trade.
Mr. Putin is the first major head of state to visit North Korea since the pandemic, highlighting its importance to Russia: It is one of the few like-minded countries able and willing to supply Moscow with badly needed conventional weapons for its war in Ukraine.
Mr. Kim gave Mr. Putin a red-carpet welcome early Wednesday in Pyongyang, the North’s capital. His energy-starved government flooded downtown Pyongyang with bright lights as the two leaders were driven in the same car — the Russian-made Aurus limousine that Mr. Putin gave Mr. Kim last year — to the state guesthouse.
Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine has brought the two leaders closer than ever before. They were expected to hold talks for most of Wednesday, according to Russian state media, before Mr. Putin moves on to Vietnam.
Mr. Putin has received artillery shells and missiles from North Korea to help fuel his drawn-out war in Ukraine, and he is widely expected to seek more of them on this trip. For his part, Mr. Kim covets Russian help in easing his country’s oil shortages, improving its weapons systems and undermining Washington’s attempts to strangle its economy with international sanctions.