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Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un in Vladivostok, Russia April 25, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
On Thursday, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un led a visiting delegation from Russia through a weapons exhibition that included banned intercontinental ballistic missiles and unmanned aircraft.
According to the reports, Kim and the Russian Defense Minister observed “new-type weapons and equipment” on Wednesday at an expo in Pyongyang held to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War, the Korean Central News Agency reported.
The North Korean leader told Shoigu the Defence minister of Russia about the “weapons and equipment which were invented and produced under the national defense development plan and have been recently furnished to the Korean People’s Army,” KCNA said.
Images released by state media showed enormous Hwasong-17 and solid-fuel Hwasong-18 ICBMs on display, as well as military drones that had not previously been disclosed by the North.
Washington had accused North Korea of supplying weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine last year, charges North Korea denies, and detailed another effort by Moscow in March to trade food for Arms.
Kim and Shoigu held a separate meeting on Wednesday, which “serve[d] as an important occasion to further develop the strategic and traditional North Korea-Russia relations as required by the new century,” KCNA reported.
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The meeting boosted “strategic and tactical collaboration and cooperation between the two countries in the field of national defense and security to cope with the ever-changing regional and international security environment,” the report said.
A Chinese delegation led by high-ranking Communist Party politburo member Li Hongzhong also visited North Kore’s Capita, Pyongyang for the occasion of the armistice anniversary, known in North Korea as Victory Day, KCNA said.
The arrival of the two delegations marks a rare burst of diplomatic activity for the isolated nation, which completely sealed its borders at the start of the Covid 19 pandemic and has been slow to restart any contact with the outside world.
Moscow and Beijing appear to be solidifying their support for Pyongyang amid the geopolitical divide that has grown in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The two countries have repeatedly blocked US-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 ICBM earlier this month.
Tensions remain high on the Korean Peninsula as Pyongyang fired a pair of short-range Ballistic missiles on Monday, while two U.S. submarines including a nuclear-powered ballistic missile Sub-marine made port calls to South Korea over the past week.
North Korea, meanwhile, has publicly spoken out in support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. During Shoigu’s visit, Kim “repeatedly expressed the belief that the Russian army and people would achieve big successes in the struggle for building a powerful country.”
