Russian President Vladimir Putin set foot on North Korean soil early Wednesday.
According to reports from Yonhap News and others, Putin landed in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang at 2 a.m. on his private jet after finishing his schedule in the Sakha Republic, north-western part of Eurasia.
Living up to his reputation for tardiness, he arrived later than initially scheduled.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally greeted Putin at the airport that day.
The two leaders show their close relationship by hugging twice. SBS
Despite Putin’s delayed arrival, Kim was reported to have waited at the airport, neatly combing his hair. In particular, one Russian local media outlet evaluated Kim’s act of waiting alone until Putin disembarked from the plane as the highest sign of trust.
Upon meeting Putin, Kim is known to showcase their close relationship by hugging him twice.
Since 2000, Putin has visited North Korea for the first in 24 years.
This is the third time Kim has met Putin directly, following the North Korea-Russia Summit in Vladivostok, Russia, in April 2019 and the North Korea-Russia Summit at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia in September of the same year.
Meanwhile, at Kim’s invitation, Putin was scheduled to visit North Korea for two days starting on the 18th, but his late arrival in Pyongyang changed the visit to one day.
During the summit scheduled for the afternoon, Putin and Kim are expected to sign a “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” to strengthen the close North Korea-Russia relationship.
The day before, Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser, stated that security issues would be included in this agreement.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss military cooperation, and there is interest in whether they will agree to a level of collaboration similar to the automatic military intervention clause included in the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance signed between the former Soviet Union and North Korea in 1961 and abolished in 1996.
The two leaders also plan to discuss sensitive issues informally over a walk and tea.
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