Kim Jong Un has arrived for his meeting with Vladimir Putin
September 13, 2023, 12:51 AM
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has arrived at the Vostochny Cosmodrome for his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin greeted him in front of the building. The two shook hands and walked inside.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, second left, and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, center, examine a rocket assembly hangar during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Sept. 13, 2023.
Vladimir Smirnov/AP
“I’m very glad to see you,” Putin said upon greeting Kim, according to RIA News, a state-run media outlet.
The high-level summit began at about 2:30 p.m. local time, coming after days of speculation over when and where the meeting would take place. The Kremlin, which announced on Monday that the meeting was planned, had said on Tuesday it would take place in the coming days.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un visit the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, Sept. 13, 2023.
Sputnik/via Reuters
The two are expected to discuss a trade deal that may include North Korea supplying Russia with ammunition, which may be used in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Those discussion have been “actively advancing,” a U.S. official told ABC News last week.
Kim left Pyongyang on Sunday night, travelling into Russia on a slow-moving train that crossed the border into far eastern Russia Tuesday.
Putin on Monday began a two-day trip to Vladivostok, a port city near eastern Russia’s border with North Korea, where he attended an economic forum, Russia’s TASS news agency said.
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, arrives at the Vostochny Cosmodrome before a meeting of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, Sept. 13, 2023.
Sputnik/via Reuters
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
ABC News’ Shannon Crawford and Ben Gittleson contributed to this story.
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