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| Kim Chang-son, chief protocol secretary for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un got out of a vehicle as he arrived at Sheremetyevo International Airport, northwest of the central Moscow, to head for Vladivostok, March 24 (KST). Yonhap |
By Kim Yoo-chul
There are signs that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may soon visit Russia for a summit with President Vladimir Putin, according to North Korea watchers.
Kim Jong-un's chief protocol secretary Kim Chang-son arrived in Vladivostok, Sunday morning (KST) after a five-day visit to Moscow. Secretary Kim, also known as the "chief butler" for the North Korean leader, departed from Sheremetyevo International Airport, northwest of central Moscow on Russia's Aeroflot flight SU 1700.
"Secretary Kim's visit to Vladivostok is viewed as a necessary step ahead of the upcoming Kim-Putin summit as he was in Singapore and Vietnam shortly before the two Kim-Trump summits and inspected hotels and other accommodation for the North's delegation," a government official here said.
On March 4, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was expecting to finalize the date of Kim Jong-un's visit and added an agreement will be made "in the near future" as contacts have been ongoing through diplomatic channels.
If the Kim-Putin summit occurs, the main issue on the agenda would be boosting North Korea's diplomatic ties with Russia focusing on the economic front after the failure of the Hanoi summit, political analysts said.
The collapse in Hanoi was because the North didn't accept the United States' request for full and verifiable denuclearization; while Pyongyang demanded Washington remove sanctions that are "most painful to its citizens." With China, Russia is also a solid backer in supporting the North's "step-by-step" approach to the nuclear issue, in which Trump provides economic aid or eases some of the sanctions on Kim's regime.
"Kim Jong-un appears to be reviewing plans to augment the volume of North Korea's trade with Russia within the confines of both the United Nations as well as Washington imposed sanctions. The continued international sanctions against North Korea have in fact been one of the key stumbling blocks to an increased North Korea-Russia economic partnership," Chung Dong-young, floor leader of the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace, said in a local radio interview Monday.
"The North Korean economy is heavily dependent upon assistance from China and Russia. As Kim Jong-un declared that he will seek new ways after Hanoi, the North Korean leader wants to further strengthen his relationship with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping," added Chung, also a member of the National Assembly Administrative and Security Committee.
Park Ji-won, a seasoned North Korean expert and a former top liaison official to North Korea, said the upcoming Putin-Kim summit would cover how to jointly develop satellites and get sanctions relief using Putin's personal relationship with Trump.
As Kim Jong-un is offering deepening cooperation with Russia, President Moon Jae-in is also eager for more economic involvement with both the North and Russia. Moon earlier touted the development of energy cooperation in Northeast Asia. Russia is widely seen as one of the key pillars of such collaboration in terms of supplying resources.
