North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may travel to Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin over the possible sale of arms to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine, the White House said Monday, as the two U.S. adversaries continue to strengthen ties.
U.S. officials say potential arms sales from North Korea to Russia were discussed during a trip to Pyongyang in July by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the first such visit by a Russian defense minister since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
“We have information that Kim Jong Un expects these discussions to continue, to include leader-level diplomatic engagement in Russia,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement, according to The Associated Press.
She did not say when or where in Russia Putin might meet with Kim, who rarely leaves his isolated Communist country and has not ventured abroad since before the pandemic. When he does go overseas, as when he first visited Russia in 2019, he usually travels by armored train.
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Watson added that the U.S. urges North Korea “to cease its arms negotiations with Russia and abide by the public commitments that Pyongyang has made to not provide or sell arms to Russia.”
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