North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Russian Defence Minister on military cooperation
On Wednesday, July 26, 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang to discuss military issues and the regional security environment. The meeting was held as North Korea celebrated the 70th anniversary of an armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, which the North still sees as a victory in the “Grand Fatherland Liberation War.”
According to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim and Shoigu reached a consensus on unspecified “matters of mutual concern in the field of national defence and security and on the regional and international security environment.” Shoigu also delivered a “warm and good letter” from Russian President Vladimir Putin to Kim, KCNA said. The meeting was expected to “further boost the strategic and tactical collaboration and cooperation between the two countries in the field of national defence and security,” KCNA added.
The meeting illustrated North Korea’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has escalated in recent months. North Korea has been aligning with Russia over the conflict, insisting that the “hegemonic policy” of the U.S.-led West forced Moscow to take military action to protect its security interests. The Biden administration has accused North Korea of providing arms to Russia to aid its fighting in Ukraine, although the North has denied the claim.
Kim also took Shoigu to an arms exhibition that showcased some of North Korea’s newest weapons and briefed him on national plans to expand the country’s military capabilities. Photos from the exhibition showed Kim and Shoigu walking near a row of large missiles mounted on launcher trucks. Some of the weapons in the images appeared to be intercontinental ballistic missiles that the North has flight-tested in recent years as it pursues an arsenal that can pose a viable threat to the continental United States. Kim and Shoigu also walked past what were possibly new surveillance and attack drones that had not been publicly announced by the North.
The meeting was part of a rare case of diplomatic opening by North Korea since the start of the pandemic, which has severely restricted its external contacts. North Korea invited delegations from Russia and China to attend the events marking the armistice of July 27, 1953. While the truce left the Korean Peninsula in a technical state of war, the North still sees it as a victory in the “Grand Fatherland Liberation War.” The festivities were to be highlighted by a military parade Thursday evening in Pyongyang, where Kim – possibly in the presence of Shoigu and a visiting Chinese ruling party official – could showcase his most powerful, nuclear-capable missiles designed to threaten neighboring rivals and the United States.
The meeting between Kim and Shoigu came amid stalled nuclear diplomacy between North Korea and the United States, which has been seeking to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief and security guarantees. Kim has vowed to bolster his nuclear deterrent and rejected U.S. overtures for dialogue, demanding that Washington abandon its “hostile” policy first. Analysts say that North Korea may use its military parade and other events to demonstrate its defiance and pressure Washington for concessions.
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(1) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Russian defense minister to discuss military cooperation. https://easternmirrornagaland.com/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-un-meets-with-russian-defense-minister-to-discuss-military-cooperation/.
(2) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets Russian Defence Minister on military cooperation. https://www.orissapost.com/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-un-meets-russian-defence-minister-on-military-cooperation/.
(3) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Russian defense minister on military cooperation. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-un-meets-with-russian-defense-minister-on-military-cooperation-529442.
(4) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Russian Defence Minister on .... https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-un-meets-with-russian-defence-minister-on-military-cooperation/article67126562.ece.
(5) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Russian defense minister to .... https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-meets-russian-defense-101691999.
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