Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will hold talks on April 25 in Vladivostok. This was announced by the Assistant to the President of Russia Yury Ushakov.
"Date - April 25, in Vladivostok, our president will hold talks with the Chairman of the State Council of the Korean People's Democratic Republic, Kim Jong-un, who will visit our country on a visit, and this meeting will be the first contact of our president with the North Korean leader," Ushakov told journalists on April 23 .
The fact that Kim Jong-un visited Russia "in the second half of April," the Kremlin press service reported last week. However, the place and time of the meeting were not disclosed. As the assistant to the Russian president explained to journalists, at the request of the North Korean side.
But he revealed some details of the future meeting: first, negotiations will be held “in a narrow composition”, then members of the official delegations of the two countries will join Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, after which an official reception will be held. On the Russian side, in addition to Vladimir Putin, Yuri Ushakov and the press secretary of the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov, Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Transport Minister Yevgeny Dietrich, Head of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East Alexander Kozlov, Deputy Minister Energy Anatoly Yanovsky and the head of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov. A joint statement by the press leaders on the results of the conversation has not yet been scheduled.
“The focus of the talks will, of course, be a political and diplomatic solution to the nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula,” said Yury Ushakov on the summit’s agenda. “We consider this visit a key event in recent years, it is also important in terms of facilitating a political and diplomatic settlement of the problems of the Korean Peninsula and ensuring the security of Northeast Asia as a whole.”
The assistant to the president of Russia said that he sees positive trends in the development of the American-North Korean dialogue. He recalled that back in 2017, Russia, together with China, developed a roadmap for a Korean settlement: the DPRK's refusal of nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches in exchange for the abolition of large-scale military exercises by Washington jointly with South Korea. And this Russian-Chinese plan is being implemented de facto by the United States and the DPRK.
“Pyongyang imposed a moratorium on trials, while the United States and South Korea refused major joint military exercises,” Ushakov said. “Now we need to move on to the second part of this roadmap, and we will contribute to this.”
The leaders of Russia and North Korea have “extensive baggage” for discussion at the upcoming summit, said earlier the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov.
“Of course, the first is the development of bilateral relations, the second is a discussion of the problem of denuclearization, problems of regional cooperation, therefore the baggage for discussion is very extensive,” the Kremlin representative said.
Kim Jong-un arrived in Vladivostok on an armored train on April 24. At the station square, he was greeted by the orchestra of the guard of honor. After the ceremony, Kim Jong-un left the city center in a limousine, which was accompanied by security.
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The previous meeting of the leaders of Russia and North Korea took place in 2011. Then the father of the current head of the DPRK, Kim Jong Il, met with the then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Ulan-Ude. Vladimir Putin last talked with Kim Jong Il in 2002 in Vladivostok.
“Needs Russian support”
Washington’s reluctance to soften its position and build a constructive dialogue with the DPRK could push North Korea to negotiate with Russia, analysts say.
Almost a week before the meeting of the Russian and North Korean leaders, US National Security Assistant President John Bolton said that the next summit of the heads of the United States and the DPRK should be preceded by a strategic decision on Pyongyang's refusal of nuclear weapons.
In the North Korean Foreign Ministry, his words were called "nonsense." This was reported by the North Korea Central Telegraph Agency.
“In general, we did not expect Assistant Bolton to ever say reasonable words. But since he is called the Assistant Head of the White House for National Security, he had to at least understand what kind of contacts are being maintained, essentially, between the heads of the two countries in connection with the third summit, and only then speak out, ”the first noted. Deputy Foreign Minister of the DPRK Choi Son Hi.
- Assistant to the President of the USA on national security John Bolton
- Reuters
- © Kevin Lamarque
Earlier, on April 13, the North Korean leader called on the United States to change its position on the issue of denuclearizing the republic before the end of 2019. In addition, he noted that the negotiations "will be difficult to return."
Recall that in late February, a meeting took place between the American President and the North Korean leader in Vietnam. The parties could not come to any agreements. Even in Seoul they said they were disappointed with the results of the summit.
“We really regret that President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un were unable to reach an agreement at today's summit,” the South Korean President’s press service said.
Tightening the position of Washington at the summit in Vietnam was not clear to Pyongyang, given that before that the parties had already reached a number of agreements, said Yevgeny Kim, leading researcher at the Center for Korean Studies at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
“Washington stepped back from the idea of phased denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. At the summit in Vietnam, Trump said it was necessary to eliminate all nuclear weapons - the US position turned 180 degrees, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.
According to Yevgeny Kim, while the US rhetoric regarding the DPRK was less harsh, Pyongyang showed diplomatic caution in relations with Moscow.
“Until now, North Korea was undesirable to demonstrate close contacts with Russia. This could create some problems in the negotiations of Pyongyang and Washington. Here we are talking only about the tactical side of things. Now in the DPRK they considered it necessary to go on negotiations with the Russian Federation. According to the North Korean leadership, the time has come to get wider support for its position on denuclearization from Russia, ”Kim said.
A similar opinion is shared by the professor at Kunming University in Seoul, Andrei Lankov.
“The meeting between Putin and Kim Jong-un is related to the fact that the agreement between the DPRK and the United States was not successful - North Korea needs Russian support. Since Moscow maintains a neutral position in the situation around the Korean Peninsula, this makes it a good ally for North Korea, ”the expert stated in a conversation with RT.
International guarantee mechanism
“There is no doubt that Russia will be ready to do everything to facilitate the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula to the best of its abilities,” Dmitry Peskov emphasized earlier.
The upcoming talks between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un will contribute to resolving the problem of nuclear disarmament of the Korean Peninsula. This was announced on April 19 by the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China Lu Kahn.
- North Korean military
- Reuters
- © Damir Sagolj
"We are confident that this will contribute to the process of resolving the problem of the Korean Peninsula through political measures and will contribute to maintaining peace and stability in the region," the representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry TASS quotes.
Earlier, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui called the meeting of the leaders of Russia and the DPRK a very important event, since Moscow has a positive effect on the situation around the Korean Peninsula.
“Russia has made a very important contribution to maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, to resolving the Korean nuclear problem,” RIA Novosti reports.
On the eve of the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, the special representative of the United States for North Korea Stephen Bigan visited Moscow. He spoke about the negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang.
As Yevgeny Kim notes, at the upcoming meeting, Vladimir Putin intends to support North Korea’s aspiration for a phased denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
“If the United States had not pursued a hostile policy against North Korea and would not put pressure on the republic, the DPRK might not have gone to strengthen its nuclear arsenal. Moscow understands this, ”the expert said.
Russia, in cooperation with China, can ensure the security of the Korean Peninsula by creating a multilateral guarantee mechanism for North Korea, Yevgeny Kim said.
“North Korea and the United States will not be able to agree on denuclearization themselves. The participation of Russia and China will be required in order to create an international guarantee mechanism for North Korea. This is a big responsibility, but Moscow and Beijing will be ready for this. It is not excluded that North Korea will go to such conditions, ”Kim suggested.
According to Andrei Lankov, Russia can "play the role of arbitrator" in the process of detente on the Korean Peninsula and the reconciliation of the two Koreas. According to the expert, this is facilitated by "A combination of great potential and little involvement in the Korean crisis."
"Willingness to cooperate"
Putin and Kim Jong Un are likely to discuss not only politics, but also the economy, including Trans-Korean projects, analysts say.
Recall that in September 2018, the Russian Ministry of Energy announced that they were considering the possibility of supplying electricity to the DPRK as part of the development of the Asian energy ring. This was announced by the head of department, Alexander Novak, in an interview with NTV.
According to him, within the framework of the project, it is important “to provide mutual support and the availability of appropriate generating capacity and grid facilities that would allow to transfer energy for the development needs of the economies of the countries.”
The project to create an Asian energy ring involves the unification of the Russian, Chinese, North Korean, South Korean and Japanese energy systems.
Earlier in the Railways reported that Russia and South Korea are ready to get acquainted with the terms of the project on the connection of the Trans-Korean Railway and the Trans-Siberian Railway with the participation of the DPRK.
- Trans-Siberian Railway
- Reuters
- © Ilya Naymushin
According to Oleg Belozerov, general director of Russian Railways, the conjugation will cost $ 3-4 billion and can be implemented in less than five years.
The Russian side is fully prepared for the implementation of this project and is awaiting a political decision of the authorities of the DPRK and South Korea. This was stated by Gennady Bessonov, Secretary General of the Coordination Council on Transsiberian Transportation.
In turn, Gazprom last year announced the resumption of negotiations with South Korea on the construction of a gas pipeline through the DPRK.
According to Yevgeny Kim, the likelihood that Putin and Kim Jong-un can discuss trans-Korean infrastructure projects is extremely high.
“For Russia, negotiations in this vein will be easy, as there are no obstacles on the part of Moscow. The DPRK also supported these plans, but South Korea is not going to implement them due to US sanctions, ”the expert stated.
However, Russia and North Korea "are of economic interest for each other" and at this stage they can carry out the necessary preparations prior to the direct implementation of these projects, Kim said.
“Russia and the DPRK can begin work on the standardization of the passage of passages, as the countries have different technical characteristics of the railway communication, in particular, the gauge. In addition, we can talk about synchronizing the delivery of goods, including aspects of customs clearance of goods. If we talk about the energy ring, the project also needs to fit the Russian and North Korean energy systems, ”the expert concluded.
As noted on the eve in a commentary for the Chinese news agency Xinhua, Professor of the Department of International Politics at the School of Management of Jilin University, Wang Sheng, Moscow can help Beijing with economic development. In turn, the Japanese edition of Mainiti claims that the DPRK is seeking, with the help of Russia, to get rid of its one-sided orientation towards China in its economic ties.
As Andrei Lankov notes, at the upcoming meeting Russia will show North Korea its “willingness to cooperate.”
“Putin and Kim Jong-un will discuss trans-Korean projects and eventually sign a number of declarations. Russia will demonstrate to the world that it cannot be written off in this matter, ”the expert concluded.