Russian president Vladimir Putin is set to travel to North Korea for a two-day state visit.
Both Moscow and Pyongyang announced the development via state TV and news agency, confirming the already in circulation rumours.
Putin is expected to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for talks as they deepen their alignment in the face of separate, intensifying confrontations with United States.
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This time two-day visit will mark the first Putin’s trip to North Korea in 24 years.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Putin will pay a state visit on Tuesday and Wednesday at Kim’s invitation. North Korean state media didn’t immediately provide details. Russia also confirmed the visit in a simultaneous announcement.
There are growing concerns by US and western countries about an arms arrangement in which Pyongyang provides Moscow with badly needed munitions to fuel Putin’s war in Ukraine in exchange for economic assistance and technology transfers that would enhance the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile program.
Military, economic and other cooperation between North Korea and Russia have sharply increased since Kim visited the Russian Far East in September for a meeting with Putin, their first since 2019.
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U.S. and South Korean officials have accused the North of providing Russia with artillery, missiles and other military equipment to help prolong its fighting in Ukraine, possibly in return for key military technologies and aid. Both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied accusations about North Korean weapons transfers.
The visit is seen as a victory for Kim Jong Un, upgrading North Korea’s status among countries standing against the US led international order and bolstering his domestic legitimacy.