Space Industry and Business News
NUKEWARS
Kim inspects key weapons with Russian defence chief
Kim inspects key weapons with Russian defence chief
by AFP Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) Sept 16, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Saturday with the Russian defence minister in Vladivostok, where he inspected state-of-the-art weapons including a hypersonic missile system on the latest leg of a rare visit outside his country.

Upon arriving in Vladivostok, a Pacific port city near the Chinese and North Korean borders, Kim was greeted by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and an honour guard.

The pair were seen smiling as they inspected some of Russia's nuclear bombers at an airfield before boarding a warship, a video released by the Russian defence ministry showed.

Kim's extended tour of Russia's far eastern region, which began on Tuesday, has focused extensively on military matters, as evidenced by his own officer-dominated entourage, a symbolic exchange of rifles with President Vladimir Putin and a tour of a fighter jet factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

Historic allies, Russia and North Korea are both under rafts of global sanctions -- Moscow for its Ukraine assault, Pyongyang for its nuclear tests.

Kim's first official visit abroad since the coronavirus pandemic has fanned Western fears that Moscow and Pyongyang will defy sanctions and strike an arms deal.

Moscow is believed to be interested in buying North Korean ammunition to continue fighting in Ukraine, while Pyongyang wants Russia's help to develop its internationally condemned missile programme.

The Kremlin has said no agreement has or will be signed.

After meeting Kim on Wednesday at the Vostochny cosmodrome, roughly 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles) from Moscow, Putin talked up the prospect of greater cooperation with North Korea and the "possibilities" for military ties.

At the Knevichi airfield in Vladivostok on Saturday, Kim was shown strategic Tu-160, Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 bombers.

"These aircraft form the air component of Russia's strategic nuclear forces," the defence ministry said in a statement.

According to footage released by Moscow, Kim was shown carefully listening to senior representatives of the Russian military and inspecting the aircraft.

Russian officials also showed the reclusive leader a range of fighter jets as well as a hypersonic, air-launched Kinzhal missile system.

Kim and Shoigu then boarded the Marshal Shaposhnikov, an anti-submarine destroyer, where the head of the Russian navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, explained the characteristics of the warship and the weapons it carries including Kalibr cruise missiles.

Russia uses Kinzhal and Kalibr missiles to assault Ukraine.

Later in the day Kim watched a production of The Sleeping Beauty, one of the most popular classical ballets, in the company of Russian officials.

Regional governor Oleg Kozhemyako said talks with the North Korean leader would take place on Sunday, and the two would discuss tourism and culture, among other topics.

- 'Troubling' cooperation -

Kim is visiting Russia as Putin seeks to bolster alliances with other world leaders ostracised by Western countries.

Kim and Putin's gifting each other rifles at the spaceport summit on Wednesday further fuelled speculation that an arms export deal could be on the table, despite Western warnings.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that no agreements had been signed during Kim's trip, and "there was no plan to sign any".

While meeting Kim, Putin accepted an invitation to visit North Korea and offered to send a North Korean to space, which would be a first.

Moscow also mentioned the possibility of helping North Korea manufacture satellites, a prospect that has alarmed Washington.

The cooperation announced during Kim's Russia trip is "quite troubling and would potentially be in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions", US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters after the leaders' summit.

North Korean satellites, he noted, have been used to develop Pyongyang's ballistic missiles.

Pyongyang recently failed twice in its bid to put a military spy satellite into orbit.

Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
NUKEWARS
Japan's Kishida willing to meet N. Korea's Kim
Tokyo (AFP) Sept 15, 2023
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is willing to meet North Korea's Kim Jong Un "without preconditions", a top government official said Friday. The prime minister has previously said he was ready to hold talks with Kim, but the reiterated invitation comes after the North Korean leader travelled to Russia to met President Vladimir Putin this week. That meeting sparked worries of a possible arms agreement after US officials warned Moscow was in search of ammunition to use in the Ukraine conflic ... read more

NUKEWARS
GMV tests robot for assembly and maintenance of structures in Earth orbit

Sidus contracts with HEO for non-Earth imaging payload data services

Terran Orbital expands manufacturing at Irvine plant

Apple to update iPhone 12 in France over radiation

NUKEWARS
Picogrid releases smallest AI-Enabled Command Station deployable in minutes

PLD SPACE signs a MOU with WISeKey to launch ultra-secure satellites with MIURA 5

Space Force awards Viasat contract for Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Satellite Services

Solstar Space awarded Space Force contract for Deke Space Communicator

NUKEWARS
NUKEWARS
Galileo becomes faster for every user

Present and future of satellite navigation

New Galileo station goes on duty

Potential earthquake precursor discovered through GPS measurements

NUKEWARS
Ukrainian pilots test Swedish Gripen jets: government

Several ASEAN air force chiefs skip Myanmar meeting

U.S. military calls on public to help find stealth fighter jet lost in South Carolina

US approves $5 bn sale of F-35 jets to South Korea

NUKEWARS
Five things to know about British chip champion Arm

TSMC plans $100 million investment in Arm IPO: board

US chip giant GlobalFoundries opens $4 bn Singapore plant

SoftBank supremo eyes rare success with Arm IPO

NUKEWARS
NASA JPL Imaging Spectrometer Ready for Tanager 1 Integration

Showcase your climate data visualisation talent with ESA

Satellogic and SkyWatch increase access to timely earth observation data

Measurement campaign on small-scale variability of sunlight in the USA completed

NUKEWARS
Breathless Indonesians irate over pollution crisis

Lead poisoning causes far more death, IQ loss than thought: study

UK designer rejects 'fast fashion' to protect planet

Sweden to abolish tax on plastic bags in 2024

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.