Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
Kim-Putin summit likely in Vladivostok
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Russian and North Korean flags wave in the wind in front of a campus building of the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Tuesday, the possible venue for a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
NK, Russia may agree to support sanctions easing
By Lee Min-hyung
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have departed for Vladivostok, Tuesday, for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Neither side has disclosed any details over the meeting, but signs show the summit will take place sooner rather than later.
Kim is expected to use his armored train to get to the city in the Russian Far East.
On Tuesday, North Korean propaganda outlets confirmed Kim would make a Russia visit soon upon Putin's invitation. This is the first time the North has acknowledged in public that Kim will meet with Putin.
“On a visit to Russia, Kim will have a summit with the Russian president,” the North's state-controlled Korean Central News Agency reported. But it did not share Kim's detailed itinerary, including his departure time or summit schedule.
The Russian media expects the summit to take place sometime between April 24 and 25 at the Far Eastern Federal University located in Vladivostok.
It appears the two leaders will have their first meeting at the university in consideration of enhanced security on some facilities there. Police and military officers were seen guarding the campus, restricting public access to the area.
Kim Chang-son, the de facto chief of staff for Kim, has in recent days been spotted at the possible summit venue. The ranking official is responsible for checking overseas travel routes for Kim. He is known as the key figure who handled the protocol for the North Korean leader during his recent Hanoi summit with President Donald Trump.
Expectations are that Kim will travel by his personal armored train to Vladivostok where he will possibly arrive today.
Vladivostok is about 1,100 kilometers from Pyongyang. As he took his train to the Vietnamese capital in February, observers expect he will also likely opt for the land route to Vladivostok.
The exact timeline for the upcoming summit remains shrouded in secrecy. The Kremlin has only confirmed that the meeting between Putin and Kim will be held no later than the end of this month.
Possible agenda
Experts said there is a possibility that Putin and Kim may sign an agreement outlining Russia's support on a partial lifting of sanctions on the North.
“Russia has in recent months supported a partial easing of sanctions on North Korea in return for the latter's suspension of nuclear tests and missile provocations,” said Kim Yeol-soo, head of the security research office at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs.
“The North's two main allies, China and Russia, share this common view, but Russia has raised a more active voice recently.”
Even though Kim has held four summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping since the beginning of last year, China has not taken any outstanding or concrete steps in favor of the North in the latter's ongoing nuclear dialogue with the U.S., according to Kim Yeol-soo.
“For this reason, Kim will likely look forward to holding a summit with Putin with a view to winning support from Russia before realizing the regime's end goal of sanctions relief from international society,” he pointed out.
Shin Beom-chul, a senior researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, concurred over the possibility that Putin and Kim can release a joint statement on sanctions-related issues.
“Russia holds the position that international society needs to partially ease the sanctions on the North if it takes phased steps for denuclearization,” Shin said. “If Putin says this during the summit with Kim, this will be of great help to Kim.”