Putin to visit North Korea for talks with Kim Jong Un, both countries announce

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea for a two-day visit starting Tuesday, both countries announced, amid international concerns about their military cooperation.

Putin is expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for talks as they deepen their alignment in the face of confrontations with Washington. It will be Putin’s first trip to North Korea in 24 years.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Putin will pay a state visit on Tuesday and Wednesday at Kim’s invitation. North Korean state media didn’t immediately provide details. Russia confirmed the visit in a simultaneous announcement.

There are growing concerns about an arms arrangement in which Pyongyang provides Moscow with badly needed munitions to fuel Putin’s war in Ukraine in exchange for economic assistance and technology transfers that would enhance the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile program.

Military, economic and other cooperation between North Korea and Russia have increased since Kim visited the Russian Far East in September for a meeting with Putin, their first since 2019.