Pyongyang welcomes Putin with fanfare as Russian leader makes first visit in 24 years

CNN
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Thousands of North Koreans chanting “welcome Putin” lined Pyongyang’s wide boulevards waving Russian and North Korean flags and bouquets of flowers Wednesday as Russian President Vladimir Putin kicked off his first visit to North Korea in 24 years.

Putin was met with exuberant fanfare for a welcome ceremony with his counterpart Kim Jong Un at Kim Il Sung Square in the heart of the North Korean capital, where mounted soldiers, military personnel and children holding balloons cheered against the backdrop of large portraits of the two leaders.

Putin and Kim presented their delegations and stood together as the Russian national anthem played before the two leaders rode standing shoulder to shoulder in an open-top limousine as they smiled and waved to the crowds.

Putin landed in North Korea in the early hours of Wednesday local time for a rare visit, heralding Moscow’s deepening alignment with Pyongyang in the face of shared animosity toward the West and international concerns over their growing military cooperation.

Multiple governments have accused Pyongyang of supplying arms to Moscow for its grinding war in Ukraine, a charge both countries have denied, despite significant evidence of such transfers.

The two autocrats are expected to ink a new strategic partnership agreement in a stark signal of their expanding relations.

The trip also marks a significant boost for Kim, who remains isolated on the world stage due to his illegal weapons program and has not hosted another world leader in his capital since the pandemic.

Kim beamed visibly as he greeted Putin at the airport in the early hours, video footage of the Russian leader’s arrival showed.

The pair then rode together to the Kumsusan State Guest House where Putin is staying, according to North Korean state-run news agency KCNA.

The two leaders “exchanged their pent-up innermost thoughts and opened their minds to more surely develop (North Korea-Russia) relations in conformity with the common desire and will of the peoples of the two countries,” KCNA said.

The burgeoning relationship has sparked concern in both Seoul and Washington, not only over North Korea’s arms transfers to Russia, but also the prospect of Moscow transferring its superior military technology to aid Pyongyang’s’s heavily sanctioned weapons program.

Tensions remain elevated on the Korean Peninsula, as Kim in recent months has ramped up bellicose language and scrapped a longstanding policy of seeking peaceful reunification with South Korea.

This is a developing story and will be updated.