Kim-Putin summit likely next week

People bow as they pay their respects before the statues of late North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, as part of celebrations marking the anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung. AFP-Yonhap

By Kim Yoo-chul

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin are likely to hold a summit either on April 24 or 25, according to foreign media reports, Thursday.

Accordingly, South Korea's National Security Office (NSO) held a meeting to discuss the possible impact of the summit, and how to prepare for a possible meeting between President Moon Jae-in and Kim, a presidential aide said. NSO chief Chung Eui-yong presided over the meeting.

Another presidential aide said the NSO meeting also touched on the possibility of sending a special envoy to North Korea for working-level dialogue on holding another summit between the leaders of the Koreas. The aide didn't elaborate. Expectations were that Seoul may send an envoy to Pyongyang sometime later next week.

Citing a recent visit by Kim's confidant Kim Chang-son to Vladivostok, reports and North Korean analysts said Kim Jong-un may head to Russia next week for a bilateral summit with Putin in the Russian port city, days before the two leaders travel to Beijing for China's Belt and Road Conference to be held between April 26 and 27.

Japanese broadcaster Fuji News Network reported Kim Chang-son was captured on camera near the main train station in the Russian city, raising speculations the North Korean leader Kim may use his signature green and yellow train to travel to the country for his in-person meeting with Putin.

An official from the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok had confirmed Putin and Kim would meet on the university's premises “sometime in the second half of this month.”

Neither Russian nor North Korean officials have confirmed a specific date or place for the possible summit, though Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said “preparations for the meeting are underway.”

The Kim-Putin summit, if it happens, could be interpreted as an opportunity for North Korea to press the United States for an easing of economic sanctions after Washington didn't accept the North's request for limited sanctions relief in Hanoi. U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun plans to meet Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov during his hurriedly-arranged trip to Moscow ahead of the Kim-Putin summit.

Political analysts in Seoul said the North Korea-Russia summit will be a concern to President Moon Jae-in as Pyongyang has yet to notify Seoul of its decision regarding Moon's suggestion for another inter-Korean summit, a key goal for President Moon to keep the momentum of nuclear diplomacy going between the United States and North Korea.

“When you say China is the North's most crucial backer on all fronts, Russia has long been playing a second role as a key economic partner. The North Korean leader may appeal for Putin to support his idea of getting economic concessions from the U.S. in order to advance denuclearization talks. Both China and Russia have permanent seats within the United Nations Security Council (UNSC),” said Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul.

Russia accepts lots of North Korean laborers, who are widely regarded as a key financial resource for North Korea. A recent report released by the U.N. Panel of Experts criticized the Kremlin for continuing ship-to-ship transfers of oil and other fuels, in addition to joint ventures based in Russia, which are prohibited by the United States-led UNSC sanctions against North Korea.