WASHINGTON — A U.S. official mentioned Monday that North Korean chief Kim Jong Un could journey to Russia quickly to fulfill with President Vladimir Putin because the Kremlin tries to accumulate army gear to be used in its warfare in Ukraine.
The official, who was not licensed to deal with the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on situation of anonymity, mentioned the U.S. expects Kim will make the journey inside the month. The official mentioned the U.S. isn’t positive precisely the place or when the assembly would happen, however the Pacific port metropolis of Vladivostok could be a possible risk given its relative proximity to North Korea.
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson famous Monday that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to Pyongyang final month and tried to steer North Korea to promote artillery ammunition to Russia.
Watson mentioned, “We have information that Kim Jong Un expects these discussions to continue, to include leader-level diplomatic engagement in Russia.”
She added that the U.S. is urging North Korea “to cease its arms negotiations with Russia and abide by the public commitments that Pyongyang has made to not provide or sell arms to Russia.”
Shoigu mentioned Monday that the 2 international locations could maintain joint warfare video games.
The New York Times first reported that Kim deliberate to fulfill with Putin in Russia this month.
The White House mentioned final week that it had intelligence indicating that Putin and Kim swapped letters following Shoigu’s go to. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby mentioned the letters have been “more at the surface level” however that Russian and North Korean talks on a weapons sale have been advancing.
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AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this story.
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