SEOUL, Sept. 5 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may make a rare diplomatic visit to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin for discussions about supplying weapons for Moscow’s war against Ukraine, according to the White House.
“As we have warned publicly, arms negotiations between Russia and the DPRK are actively advancing,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement Monday to multiple media outlets.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
“We have information that Kim Jong Un expects these discussions to continue, to include leader-level diplomatic engagement in Russia,” she said.
Last week, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield delivered a joint statement to the United Nations outlining “new, deeply troubling information” about Russia’s plans to acquire weapons from North Korea.
“Arms negotiations between Russia and the DPRK are actively advancing,” Thomas-Greenfield said, citing a July visit to Pyongyang by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, during which he toured a weapons expo and viewed a military parade.
“The United States is now able to share that Shoigu’s visit was more than just a photo op,” she said. “Russia is negotiating potential deals for significant quantities and multiple types of munitions from the DPRK to be used against Ukraine.”
The joint statement was co-signed by France, Japan, South Korea and Britain.
Moscow and Pyongyang have drawn closer amid a growing geopolitical divide sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Putin and Kim exchanging letters earlier this year vowing to deepen biliateral cooperation.
Russia, along with China, has repeatedly blocked U.S.-led efforts at the United Nations Security Council to take action against North Korea over a flurry of weapons tests, including its launch of a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile in July.
Moscow also attempted to broker three-way naval exercises with North Korea and China during Shoigu’s visit, South Korea’s top intelligence official said on Monday.
The New York Times first reported the planned trip to Russia by Kim Jong Un on Monday, saying the North Korean leader would likely travel by armored train from Pyongyang to the Pacific port city of Vladivostok for the meeting.
Citing U.S. and allied officials, The Times report said that Putin is seeking artillery shells and anti-tank missiles, while Kim wants advanced technology for satellites and nuclear submarines, as well as food aid.
Vladivostok is hosting the Eastern Economic Forum from Sunday to Sept. 13 on the campus of Far Eastern Federal University, where a potential meeting of the leaders could take place.
The reports of the Putin-Kim meeting follow a North Korean simulated tactical nuclear attack over the weekend. The exercise used mock nuclear warheads to warn the United States and its allies of the North’s offensive capabilities, state-run Korean Central News Agency said.