At the summit meeting between ruler Kim and President Putin, apart from nuclear disarmament, there will also be trade between North Korea and Russia. But the meeting will probably end soon. Putin has another date.
North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong Un is already here. Russian President Vladimir Putin lands later in the Siberian port city of Vladivostok. It is the first summit meeting between the two heads of state. It should start at 13 o’clock local time – that means at 5 o’clock CEST.
The meeting will take place on the campus of the Far Eastern University of Vladivostok. Due to an earlier international summit, modern hotel and conference rooms have been planned here. In addition, the campus on the island of Russkij in the south of Vladivostok is well secured, which North Korea’s rulers considered an advantage.
Talk about nuclear disarmament
Kim and Putin will first talk in private and then negotiate with the delegations. Of course, nuclear disarmament will be an issue – just as with the already two meetings between Kim and US President Donald Trump, says Ilya Dyachkov, North Korea expert of the Moscow State Institute for International Relations:
Of course, nuclear disarmament is not just a matter for North Korea and the US All regional states are working to solve this problem and, of course, US officials are coming to Moscow more often, and our representatives are traveling to both North and South Korea „All sides are very active in talking about each other, so seeing Kim in Russia as part of a joint diplomatic effort to resolve nuclear issues on the Korean peninsula is about finding a peaceful, mutually acceptable solution.
Trading currently stands at 34 million euros a year
Only then – and if the international sanctions against North Korea are relaxed – could resumption of trade with North Korea, which is currently at a vanishing 34 million euros a year, according to a Russian government official.
Raw material and energy supplies from Russia, rare earths from North Korea, investment and transit projects – there are several projects currently waiting.
Connection to the Trans-Siberian Railway
A model is, for example, the railway connection between the Russian border town of Chassan, through which Kim entered, and the nearby North Korean port city of Rajin. „We modernized the railway line five years ago,“ says Dyachkov. „Also, the port of Rajin was renewed with the help of Russian investors and we hope that this will become a model of future tripartite cooperation between North and South Korea and Russia and eventually connect the Trans-Korean and Trans-Siberian railways.“
However, this is a project that has been talked about for decades, says Dyachkov.
A short-term breakthrough in nuclear negotiations is not expected. And as important as the meeting may be – also for Russia’s international reputation: the summit is likely to end quickly. For President Putin flies from Vladivostok the same day – to the long-scheduled Silk Road Summit in Beijing.
