Kim Jong Un arrives at cosmodrome in Russia´s far east…

Vladimir Putin and fellow dictator Kim Jong Un today met at a Russian cosmodrome in a highly anticipated meeting that could see the two allies agree on a sanctions-busting arms deal to support Moscow’s assault on Ukraine.

The Russian warmonger shook hands enthusiastically with Kim as soon as he stepped out of his black limousine and said he was ‘very glad to see him’.

Putin then showed off this rockets to Kim at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russian’s modern space rocket launch site which is nestled among the forests of eastern Russia.

Kim, one of the few leaders who has stuck by the despot since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine began 19 months ago, told the Russian despot he was fighting a ‘sacred war’ with the West and their two countries would together battle with ‘imperialism’.

The two dictators continued to put on an animated display today – one that will only heighten fears further that Kim will supply Putin with his much needed artillery shells and antitank missiles to help with his gruelling offensive of Ukraine. 

In return, Kim hopes to receive advanced satellite and nuclear-powered submarine technology.

Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) visit a construction site of the Angara rocket launch complex on Wednesday

Putin and Kim look to the skies at the Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region in Rusia on Wednesday

Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd-L) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (3d-R), accompanied by head of Russian state space corporation Roscosmos Yuri Borisov (L), visit the Vostochny cosmodrome

Putin points into the air during a visit to the Vostochny Cosmodrome with Kim on Wendnesday

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un during a meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome on Wednesday

Putin sat down with Kim for a meeting after they toured the space base on Wednesday 

The leaders, both of whom are known to be paranoid about assassination attempts, were flanked by a number of bodyguards during the visit to the Vostochny Cosmodrome.

The two men began their meeting with a tour of a Soyuz-2 space rocket launch facility, at which the North Korean leader peppered a Russian space official with questions about the rockets. They then met together with their delegations and later one-on-one. 

During the visit, Putin also congratulated Kim on a series of North Korean anniversaries, including 75 years since the establishment of North Korea in 1948. 

The meeting underscores how the two leaders’ interests are aligning in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the US and the West. 

Washington has accused North Korea of providing arms to Russia, but it is unclear whether any deliveries have been made. Both Russia and North Korea have denied those claims, but promised to deepen defence cooperation. 

And in a sign of their close relationship, Kim told Putin on Wednesday that Russia was fighting a ‘sacred’ war with the West.

‘Russia has risen to a sacred fight to protect its sovereignty and security… against the hegemonic forces,’ Kim told Putin via a translator.

‘We will always support the decisions of President Putin and the Russian leadership… and we will be together in the fight against imperialism.’

Kim added that North Korea would make bilateral ties with Russia its ‘number one priority’ during the rare summit with Putin. 

‘We will prioritise the North Korea-Russia relationship and put it as the number one priority of our foreign policy from now on,’ Kim said during the visit to the space centre. 

‘I believe my meeting with President Putin will serve as a stepping stone to raise the bilateral ties to a new high level,’ he added. 

Kim is expected to seek economic aid and military technology, though an arms deal would violate international sanctions that Russia supported in the past.

Kim said his decision to visit Russia four years after his previous visit showed how Pyongyang is ‘prioritising the strategic importance’ of its relations with Moscow, North Korea’s official news agency said on Wednesday.

It comes hours after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles towards the sea.

Kim and Putin met for a one-on-one meeting after their tour of the Russian space base

The two dictators continued to put on an animated display today – one that will only heighten fears further that Kim will supply Putin with his much needed artillery shells and antitank missiles to help with his gruelling offensive of Ukraine

Putin and Kim visit the cosmodrome on Wednesday 

Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visit the Vostochny cosmodrome outside of the town of Tsiolkovsky on Wednesday

Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visit the Vostochny cosmodrome outside of the town of Tsiolkovsky on Wednesday

In this pool photograph distributed by Sputnik agency, Putin and Kim Jong Un visit the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur region on September 13, 2023

Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un don’t look too impressed as they stand together at the cosmodrome

Russian media said Putin showed Kim around the building where Russia’s new space launch rocket, the Angara, is assembled. The 42.7-metre Angara rocket launches objects into low Earth orbit.

Putin said he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would discuss ‘all the issues’ at their meeting on Wednesday, when asked whether they would talk about military co-operation, Russian news agencies reported.

‘We will discuss all the issues without rushing. We have time,’ Putin was quoted as saying.

According to US officials, Putin could focus on securing more supplies of North Korean artillery and other ammunition to bolster his stalled invasion and refill declining reserves as he seeks to defuse a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

He is also eager show that he’s capable of grinding out a long war of attrition.

That could potentially put more pressure on the United States and its partners to pursue negotiations as concerns about a protracted conflict grow despite their huge shipments of advanced weaponry to Ukraine over the past 17 months.

North Korea has possibly tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets based on Soviet designs that could potentially give a huge boost to the Russian army, analysts say.

In exchange, Kim could seek badly needed energy and food aid and advanced weapons technologies, including those related to intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines and military reconnaissance satellites.

Indeed, the decision to meet at Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia’s most important domestic satellite launch facility, suggests that Kim is seeking Russian technical assistance for his efforts to develop military reconnaissance satellites, which he has described as crucial in enhancing the threat of his nuclear-capable missiles. 

In recent months, North Korea has repeatedly failed to put its first military spy satellite into orbit. 

Asked whether Russia will help North Korea build satellites, Putin was quoted by Russian state media as saying ‘that’s why we have come here. The DPRK leader shows keen interest in rocket technology. They’re trying to develop space, too,’ using the abbreviation for North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 

Asked about military cooperation, Putin said ‘we will talk about all issues without a rush. There is time.’ 

Russia is eager for North Korea’s stockpile of artillery shells, while Pyongyang is looking for help with satellite technology and upgrading its Soviet-era military equipment, An Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, told AFP. 

The leaders, both of whom are known to be paranoid about assassination attempts, were flanked by a number of bodyguards during the visit to the Vostochny Cosmodrome 

Putin smiles in front of a rocket at the Vostochny cosmodrome on Wednesday

Kim smiles as he steps out of his limousine to meet a waiting Vladimir Putin on Wednesday

‘If North Korea’s multiple rocket launchers and other artillery shells are provided to Russia in large quantities, it could have a significant impact on the war in Ukraine,’ he said.

Russia’s natural resources minister Alexander Kozlov greeted Kim when he arrived in the country, giving him historic autographed photographs of Soviet cosmonauts, including Yuri Gagarin, Kozlov’s ministry told TASS.

The White House warned last week that North Korea would ‘pay a price’ if it supplies Russia with weaponry for the conflict in Ukraine.

Kim is also risking the displeasure of his other major ally Beijing by meeting Putin, Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, told AFP.

‘China will be hardly too happy about Russia entering into what Chinese consider their monopoly territory,’ he said, adding Beijing would be worried about the regional destabilisation impact of any transfer of Russian military technology to Pyongyang.

Kim and Putin ‘may conduct an exchange of North Korea’s old-age, Soviet-type ammo for Russia’s newer military tech or hard currency (or wheat).

‘Tactically, they both gain, by getting what they need right now. In a longer term though, Russia’s important ties to Seoul will be dealt irreparable damage.’