The North Korean and Russian leaders, Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin, arrived on Wednesday at a site in Russia’s Far East for a summit meeting, Russian state media reported. The talks will be closely watched for indications that Kim has agreed to supply munitions the Kremlin needs for its war in Ukraine.

Kim and Putin, the Russian President, are both pariahs, isolated from the West, but the war in Ukraine has elevated the North Korean leader’s significance to the Kremlin. Putin’s invasion has dragged on for nearly 19 months, and he needs allies; North Korea is one of the few countries willing to supply Russia with weapons.

The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that the two leaders had arrived Wednesday morning at Vostochny Cosmodrome, a space launch centre in Russia’s far eastern Amur region, where they shook hands.

Putin told reporters that the summit was being held at the cosmodrome because Kim “shows great interest in rocket technology”, RIA journalists reported on Telegram.

Kim arrived in Russia on Tuesday from North Korea, having travelled to the meeting on his armoured train, a trip that took days. North Korean news media reported that he had departed Pyongyang on Sunday afternoon; the Kremlin confirmed his arrival in Russia on Tuesday, with state media publishing video images of him being greeted by a Russian official at a stop identified as being in the city of Khasan, just over North Korea’s northeastern border.

Despite international sanctions and domestic economic hardship, North Korea operates one of the world’s largest standing armies and a vigorous defence industry.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that the two leaders would discuss trade and economic ties, but he also made a veiled reference to bilateral cooperation in “certain sensitive spheres which should not be publicly revealed or announced”, according to Tass.

Kim has visited North Korean munitions factories, urging them to expedite production of multiple rocket launches, sniper rifles, drones and missiles, according to the country’s state media. North Korea also has one of the largest fleets of tanks in the world, though most are Soviet-era models. However, as Russian forces try to fend off a counteroffensive in Ukraine, Moscow urgently needs to replenish its depleted arsenals with tanks and artillery, according to military experts.

North Korea wants Russian parts for its Soviet-era military and civilian aircraft, as well as help for its nuclear and missile programmes.

New York Times News Service