North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to North Korea during their meeting on Wednesday. Putin accepted the invitation.
Now that Putin has been excluded by the West because of the war in Ukraine, he is tightening ties with a number of countries that are seen as undemocratic. North Korea has emerged as a supplier of weapons for the war.
Kim told Putin on Wednesday that he is sure that the Russians will win a “great victory” and that they will win from “evil”. In doing so, he was referring to what he himself calls Western imperialism in the war in Ukraine.
What Kim wants from Russia in exchange for the weaponry is not known. Western officials think North Korea is after high technology and food aid.
Kim and Putin met on Wednesday at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a Russian space launch facility in the eastern part of the country. The North Korean leader stated upon arrival that his visit is of “strategic importance” for the ties between the two nations.
The meeting between Putin and Kim was closely watched internationally. It was anticipated that the leaders might discuss the supply of North Korean weaponry to the Russian military. It also became evident that the two leaders discussed politics on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe.
