Kim's Journey: Guns, Walrus and Ballet

Kim Jong-Un

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Niklas Gustafsson

 

Last updated: Less than 3 hours ago  

 

The North Korean dictator rarely leaves his homeland, but this week he visited Russia.  

 

The nearly week-long visit, which no independent media was allowed to cover, ended on Sunday. 

 

 North Korea describes the trip as a "new heyday" for the friendship between the countries. 

 

Kim Jong-un is greeted at the station in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, September 15. Photo: AP/Kcna (North Korea's State News Agency  

 

The North Korean dictator arrived in eastern Russia by train earlier this week. In the port city of Vladivostok, the dictator was welcomed with pomp and circumstance in a trip that will strengthen relations between the two countries, Reuters reports.  

 

Kim is saluted at the naval base in Vladivostok. Photo: AP/Kcna 

 

During the visit, Russian Defense Minister Sergej Sjojgu showed off Russian bombers, missiles and warships. 

 

Inspected weapons and walrus 

 

Kim Jong-Un is said to have happily nodded when Defense Minister Shoigu showed off a Russian bomber, capable of carrying nuclear weapons. 

 

"It can fly from Moscow to Japan and back again," Shoigu told the North Korean dictator.

In the cockpit of a weapons factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Photo: AP/Kcn

No independent media was allowed to cover Kim's trip. Photo: AP/Regional 

 

Government of Khabarovsky This week, Kim Jong-Un also met Russian President Vladimir Putin. They were seen, among other things, at the Russian space base Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia. The leaders are said to have discussed military cooperation, according to the AP news agency.  

 

As a gift from the governor of the Primorsky region, Kim Jong-Un received six drones and a bulletproof vest, all the gifts must have been produced in the region, writes the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti. 

 

Putin and Kim Jong-un at the Vostochny space base. Photo: Mikhail Metzel/AP  

 

Dinner at the Vostochny space base. According to the newspaper Vedomosti, the following was served: Duck salad with figs and nectarines. Dumplings with Kamchatka crab. Carp soup. Sea buckthorn sorbet. Sturgeon with mushrooms and potatoes. Marbled entrecote with baked vegetables. Thai galingon with pine nuts and condensed milk. Photo: AP/Kcna  

 

But during the visit the focus was not only on weapons. In Vladivostok, Kim Jong-Un is said to have also visited an aquarium and looked at the walrus Misha, something he appreciated very much, according to Russian Ria Novosti.  

 

Ballet was also on the agenda, where the dictator saw the performance "Sleeping Beauty", which he left after the first act.  

 

At the naval base in Vladivostok September 16. Photo: AP/Kcna  

 

Kim receives a gift, what appears to be a gold sword, from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Photo: AP/Kcna  

 

"New dangerous upsurge in friendship"  

 

The US and South Korea believe that the trip is part of an upswing in the relationship between North Korea and Russia. A friendship that could give North Korea access to Russian missiles and technology in exchange for North Korea helping to arm Russia in the war against Ukraine.  

 

According to the US and South Korea, the military cooperation violates UN sanctions against North Korea. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called the partnership "illegal and unjust" and promised that the international community will come together even more to deal with the situation.