North Korea confirms Kim Jong-un's visit to Russia, US speaks out

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) confirmed on September 12 that on the afternoon of September 10, Mr. Kim Jong-un left the capital Pyongyang for Russia on an armored train, along with top officials of the ruling party of North Korea and the armed forces.

However, KCNA did not say whether the train had crossed the country's border.

Triều Tiên xác nhận ông Kim Jong-un tới Nga, Mỹ lên tiếng - Ảnh 1.

This photo released by KCNA on September 12 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un leaving Pyongyang for Russia on his special train. Photo: Yonhap

Before North Korea and Russia confirmed Kim Jong-un's trip to Russia, South Korean officials revealed on September 11 that the armored train believed to be carrying the North Korean leader appeared to have departed for Russia.

"The intelligence agency believes the train believed to be carrying Kim Jong-un is heading to Vladivostok," a senior official told Yonhap news agency. Another senior official also confirmed that Kim appeared to have left Pyongyang and was en route to Russia.

The train was confirmed to be headed to the port city of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East, a journey expected to take more than 20 hours, with a lengthy stop at the Russia-North Korea border to change tracks to accommodate Russian railways.

According to information from KCNA on September 12, Mr. Kim Jong-un is on his way to attend a rare summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Currently, it is still unknown exactly when and where Mr. Kim Jong-un and Mr. Putin will hold the summit.

Triều Tiên xác nhận ông Kim Jong-un tới Nga, Mỹ lên tiếng - Ảnh 2.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Vladivostok on April 25, 2019. Photo: Yonhap

Yonhap news agency commented that this event could be an important sign of growing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said talks between North Korean and Russian delegations were planned during Kim Jong-un's visit.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the North Korean leader's visit to Russia and meeting with President Putin would be a comprehensive one. "It will be a comprehensive visit. A formal lunch is planned," Peskov was quoted as saying by Reuters . Russia has previously said it intends to strengthen ties with North Korea.

After both North Korea and Russia confirmed Kim Jong-un's visit to Russia, the White House called on North Korea not to provide weapons to Russia for use in its conflict with Ukraine.

"As we have warned, arms discussions between Russia and North Korea are expected to continue during Kim Jong-un's visit to Russia. We also urge North Korea to abide by its public commitments not to provide or sell arms to Russia," said Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.

Meanwhile, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US would impose sanctions if North Korea supplied weapons to Moscow. Mr. Miller affirmed: "We will continue to enforce those sanctions and will not hesitate to impose new sanctions as appropriate."

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