Putin arrives in North Korea for state visit, greeted by Kim

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin at Sunan Airport in Pyongyang in the early hours of Wednesday. [TASS/YONHAP]

 
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Pyongyang in the early hours of Wednesday to begin his state visit, according to the Kremlin.
 
Putin arrived at 2:46 a.m. Wednesday, the Kremlin announced through its Telegram channel. Russian media outlets reported that Putin’s private plane landed at Sunan Airport in the North Korean capital at 2:22 a.m., citing flight tracking sites.
 
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally welcomed Putin at the airport, according to Sputnik News Agency. Putin had arrived in Pyongyang after completing a visit to Yakutsk, a city in the Russian Far East.
 
The Russian president had been scheduled to make a state visit to North Korea for two days starting on Tuesday at the invitation of Kim. However, as he arrived in Pyongyang later than expected, Putin’s visit is most likely to be cut short to a day. He is scheduled to travel to Vietnam after his trip to North Korea.
 

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This is the first time in 24 years since Putin visited North Korea in July 2000. At the time, Putin was the first Russian leader to visit the country, and met with Kim’s late father Kim Jong-il.
 
This also marks the third time that Kim Jong-un and Putin are meeting in person, following the North Korea-Russia summit in Vladivostok in April 2019 and another summit at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in September last year.
 
Kim and Putin are expected to sign a “comprehensive strategic partnership” agreement that will upgrade North Korea-Russia relations on Wednesday.
 
Earlier, Kremlin press secretary Yuri Ushakov said that Putin is likely to sign "important" documents with Kim on Wednesday, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
 
Putin also said in an interview Tuesday that Pyongyang and Moscow will "develop an alternative settlement system that is not controlled by the West” and jointly oppose “illegitimate” restrictive measures.
 
 
 
 
 

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]