Author: Andrew Roth / Source: the Guardian
Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin will hold talks on an island in the far east of Russia this week in the first meeting between the two leaders, the Kremlin has confirmed.
The North Korean leader is expected to travel by armoured train to the city of Vladivostok on Wednesday, where he will meet the Russian president on the island campus of Far Eastern Federal University under heavy security.
The meeting comes two months after a lacklustre summit between Kim and Donald Trump in Hanoi failed to achieve any agreement on North Korea’s nuclear programme.
In Russia, Kim is expected to seek Putin’s support in his standoff with the west over sanctions, and also attempt to strike deals to help develop North Korea’s economy. The Russian president will hope to establish himself as a key player in international negotiations with Pyongyang.
Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin aide, confirmed Putin and Kim will meet on Thursday.
Ushakov said Putin would address diplomatic negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear programme and try to set the tone for “achieving serious agreements for settling the problem of the Korean peninsula”.
In a nod to Beijing’s close relations with Pyongyang, Ushakov said Putin would promote a Russian-Chinese “road map” to reducing tensions that would end with North Korea abandoning its nuclear programme in exchange for western concessions.
His remarks also seemed to rule out…
The post Vladimir Putin to meet Kim Jong-un on Thursday for first time appeared first on FeedBox.