Putin, Kim Conclude First Ever Summit In Vladivostok After 5-Hour 'Substantive' Talks

Putin, Kim Conclude First Ever Summit in Vladivostok After 5-Hour 'Substantive' Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have concluded their first ever summit in Vladivostok that lasted five hours, nearly two of which the two leaders spent talking tete-a-tete

VLADIVOSTOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th April, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have concluded their first ever summit in Vladivostok that lasted five hours, nearly two of which the two leaders spent talking tete-a-tete.

This was not only the first Putin-Kim summit, but also the North Korean leader's first visit to Russia since he came to power in 2011 and his first overseas trip since his re-election as the chairman of the State Affairs Commission earlier in April.

The previous Russia-North Korea summit took place back in 2011, when the father of North Korea's current leader, Kim Jong Il, met with then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Ulan-Ude.

It took more than a year to arrange the Vladivostok summit. According to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, the possibility of Kim's visit was discussed repeatedly: after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov personally handed over an invitation to Kim in June, the sides continued long discussing possible dates before finally arriving at an agreement.

The details of Kim's visit to Russia were, however, kept secret until the very last moment due to security concerns.

On Wednesday morning, Kim's armored train ultimately crossed the Russian border and stopped at Khasan railway station, where he was treated with bread and salt by Russian tradition. After Kim visited the Russian-Korean House of Friendship, his train departed for the final point of destination Vladivostok.

Upon arrival in Vladivostok at around 6:00 p.m. local time (08:00 GMT), Kim was greeted by a military orchestra, honor guard, dozens of city residents, tourists and journalists.

Kim himself told the Rossiya-2 channel that he was planning to discuss the Korean Peninsula settlement and bilateral relations with Putin at the upcoming talks.

"I hope that this visit will be successful and useful," he said in his first-ever interview to foreign media.

According to the Primorsky Territory administration's press release, the North Korean leader said that his current visit to Russia would not be the last, adding that it was "only the first step" in developing bilateral relations.

At the beginning of the talks, Kim thanked Putin for "finding time" for his visit and "traveling thousands of kilometers" to come from Moscow to Vladivostok for the meeting.

"I've come to Russia to exchange views on the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, which is now one of the most pressing issues of the international agenda, to discuss ways of peaceful settlement of this issue and also to exchange views on developing our bilateral relations in line with demands of the new century," Kim later added.

Putin, in turn, welcomed Kim in Russia and congratulated him on his recent re-election.

"I welcome you in Russia. Our colleagues have been arranging this meeting for a long time. But first of all, I would like to congratulate you on being elected for North Korea's top position. I have already sent you a corresponding letter, but want to take the chance to congratulate you in person," Putin said, adding that there was yet a lot to do for the development of bilateral relations.

Putin also praised Pyongyang's efforts in boosting its dialogue with Seoul and normalizing relations with the United States.

Later, the two leaders began face-to-face talks, which lasted nearly two hours instead of the initially planned 50 minutes and were followed by the negotiations in an expanded format.

Kim assessed the talks as a "very substantive tete-a-tete exchange of views on the issues of mutual interest and pressing issues."

Putin, meanwhile, described the North Korean leader as a "quite open person."

"He talks frankly about all the issues on the agenda bilateral relations, sanctions, the United Nations, their [Pyongyang's] relations with the United States, of course, about the most important topic, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the Russian president told reporters.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula was predictably at the heart of the Putin-Kim summit.

Amid Japanese media reports alleging that Putin was expected to suggest resuming the six-party nuclear talks, the Russian leader said that he was not sure about the need to revive them, noting, however, that such a format might be useful in providing Pyongyang with international security guarantees.

"I do not know if this format [involving China, Japan, Russia, the United States, along with North and South Koreas] should be resumed right now, but I am deeply convinced that if we find ourselves in a situation where we need to work out some guarantees for one of the parties in this case security guarantees for North Korea then we do need international guarantees. It is unlikely that an agreement between two countries will be enough," Putin said at a press conference after the talks.

The Russian president noted that the denuclearization goals were achievable but stressed the importance of making first steps toward creating trust between the parties. According to him, joint transport and infrastructure projects could create necessary conditions for building such trust.

In particular, Putin said that he had discussed with Kim a number of potential joint projects, such as the construction of a railroad linking South and North Koreas with Russia and a pipeline for transportation of oil or gas, as well as projects related to electricity networks.

Commenting on the South-North agreement to link their railroads, he said that "there has been already a passage to Russia, but for now we need at least to test first trains on this route," noting that the sides "will work on this calmly, intensely and patiently."

"I hope we can do it sometime and the sooner the better," Putin added.

He noted that such joint projects would be in the interests of South Korea as well.

"But there is a visible lack of sovereignty in making final decisions [for Seoul], as South Korea has to take into account its allied commitments to the United States in making decisions. Therefore, everything stops at a certain point," Putin said.

MOSCOW TO BRIEF CHINA, US ON TALKS

Putin also expressed Moscow's intent to notify Beijing and Washington of the summit's results.

He noted that the North Korean leader himself asked him to inform the United States about "his position and questions that he had due to the processes which are taking place on the Korean Peninsula."

"Do we have shared interests with the United States? Yes, we do. We, for example, advocate complete denuclearization, we are against proliferation of arms," Putin said.

Finally, the issues related to North Korean migrant workers in Russia were also among the talking points of the summit. According to Putin, there are "non-confrontational decisions" to tackle this humanitarian matter and ensure these people's rights in light of the 2017 UN sanctions, which stipulate their deportation within two years.

He stressed that "the Koreans are working well" in Russia, adding that "the local authorities do not register any problems with them" as "they are hardworking, law-abiding and disciplined people."

Summing up, Putin said that "everyone is pleased with the results of the talks both my colleagues and I."

KIM'S ANOTHER DAY IN VLADIVOSTOK

At a reception that followed the negotiations, the Russian and North Korean leaders were treated with crab salad, venison-filled dumplings (or pelmeni in Russian) and borscht, according to a Sputnik correspondent. The menu also included codfish with dill sauce and Khabarovsk beef with baked eggplants. Chocolate cake was served for dessert.

During the reception, Putin reiterated that there were no alternatives to a peaceful settlement of the North Korean nuclear issue and stressed that the situation in the region had stabilized "thanks to the many initiatives of comrade Kim Jong Un."

Later, Putin went to see Kim off. The two leaders shook hands and talked for a few minutes on the front steps of the summit's venue.

Waving goodbye, the North Korean leader got into his car. Then he opened the window and waved goodbye again. Putin reacted accordingly. Then, Kim's motorcade left the summit's venue.

The North Korean leader is, however, expected to spend another day in Vladivostok to visit the Russian Pacific Fleet's newest corvette, Gromky, and also lay flowers at the Military Glory of the Pacific Fleet memorial.