SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea's Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on Tuesday for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin where they are expected to offer each other increased support in their escalating standoffs with the West.
Kim is expected to seek Russian economic aid and military technology in exchange for munitions to be used in Russia's war in Ukraine.
After decades of complicated, hot-and-cold relations, Russia and North Korea have drawn closer since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The bond has been driven by Putin's need for war supplies and Kim's efforts to boost his partnerships with traditional allies Moscow and Beijing as he tries to break out of diplomatic isolation.
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim boarded his personal train bound for Russia on Sunday afternoon, accompanied by members of the ruling party, government and military.
His final destination is uncertain. Many had assumed Kim and Putin would meet in Vladisvostok, a Russian city close to the border where the two leaders had their last meeting in 2019, and which Putin is visiting this week for an economic forum.
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed only that Kim has entered Russia, and state news agency RIA-Novosti later reported his train had headed north after crossing the Razdolnaya River, taking it away from Vladivostok. The South Korean news agency Yonhap later published a photo that it said…
