Putin, and Kim Jong Un Gift Each Other Rifles After High-Profile Summit
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gifted each other rifles, the Kremlin said Thursday, after the two held a high-profile summit in Russia’s Far East.
Putin has sought to strengthen alliances with other hardline leaders ostracised by the West and met with Kim amid speculation they would agree on an arms deal.
Putin “gave (Kim) a rifle from our production of the highest quality. In turn, he also received a North Korean-made rifle,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Putin also gave Kim “a glove from a space suit that has been in space several times”, Peskov said, while Putin “gratefully” accepted an invitation to visit North Korea.
He said Kim’s visit to Russia would last “a few more days”. The North Korean leader arrived in Russia on Tuesday.
The friendly ties between the two leaders come as Russia faces isolation from the West and some of its traditional partners over its full-scale offensive in Ukraine.
US officials and experts have said Russia is interested in buying North Korean ammunition to use in Ukraine, a move the White House warned would have consequences.
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Tin also discussed the possibility of sending a North Korean into space, Russian news agencies quoted Putin’s spokesman as saying. President Putin and the North Korean leader held talks on Wednesday at a spaceport in Russia’s Far East.
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“We talked about the fact that if the North Korean side wishes, a North Korean cosmonaut can be trained and sent into space,” the TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies quoted Dmitry Peskov as saying.
If that were to happen, the cosmonaut would be the first North Korean ever to go into space.
Kim is visiting Russia as Putin seeks to bolster alliances with other leaders ostracised by Western countries. The two leaders met at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, with footage released by the Kremlin showing the pair shaking hands enthusiastically as Kim arrived.
They then toured assembly and launch facilities for the Angara and Soyuz-2 space rocket launchers before sitting down for talks. Kim “shows great interest in rocket technology, and they are trying to develop (their presence in) space”, Putin said.
The meeting at the cosmodrome was symbolic, especially as Pyongyang recently failed twice in its bid to put a military spy satellite into orbit.
In April 2008, Yi So-Yeon became the first Korean sent into space. The South Korean flew on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to conduct a mission on the International Space Station.
At the time, Yi said she hoped her journey would inspire South Korea to greater space endeavors and even help bring reconciliation to the divided peninsula.
Putin, and Kim Jong Un Gift Each Other Rifles After High-Profile Summit
