North Korea's Kim inspects Russian fighter jet plant under Western sanctions

Kim Jong Un, the ruler of North Korea, visited a Russian fighter jet plant on Friday as part of a visit that Washington and its allies worry will help Pyongyang’s missile programme and strengthen Russia’s military presence in Ukraine. The factory is subject to Western sanctions.

When Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Wednesday, they talked about military issues, the conflict in Ukraine, and advancing bilateral collaboration.

In a statement released on Friday, South Korea and the United States warned that any military collaboration between North Korea and Russia would be punished in accordance with UN sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.

Putin told journalists Russia would “not violate anything,” but it would continue to improve ties with North Korea. No agreements were struck throughout Kim’s visit, according to his spokeswoman.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the US view before and after Kim’s visit was that “talks about the provision of weapons by North Korea to Russia, to kill Ukrainians, have been advancing and continued to advance.”

“We’re not going to take their word for that, or basically anything they say,” he told a White House press briefing, when asked about the Russian statement. “We’ll see what actually ends up happening.”

“I can’t name a specific agreement for you today, but we take a look at that with a heavy grain of salt,” Sullivan added.

He said Russia, and China, had legal obligations to uphold U.N. resolutions on North Korea.

“We have very real concerns based on what Russia has just done, that they are going to live up to their basic responsibility as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council,” Sullivan said.

The Yuri Gagarin Aviation Plant and the Yakovlev Plant, both divisions of the sanctioned United Aircraft Corporation, were visited by Kim, 39, on Friday in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a city in the far east.

Kim saw the Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighter and Su-57 fighter assembly workshops at the Gagarin facility, which is also directly targeted by US sanctions, while being escorted by Denis Manturov, deputy prime minister of Russia, the government stated.

Kim was seen on Russian state media inspecting a fighter jet’s cockpit while wearing a suit and being escorted by North Korean military personnel wearing uniforms.

He then went to look at the factories that make the Sukhoi Superjet 100’s fuselage sections and wing assemblies before viewing a Su-35 demonstration flight.

He then went to look at the factories that make the Sukhoi Superjet 100’s fuselage sections and wing assemblies before viewing a Su-35 demonstration flight. He watched the boxer perform and nodded in appreciation.

North Korea was founded in 1948 with support from the then-Soviet Union, and Russia has gone out of its way to publicise the visit and make frequent allusions to the possibility of military collaboration.

Putin, who claims that Russia and the West are engaged in an existential conflict over Ukraine, can irritate Washington and its Asian allies by courting Kim while also potentially gaining a substantial supply of artillery for the conflict in Ukraine.

North Korea has been charged by Washington with giving weapons to the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, Russia, but it is unclear whether any deliveries have been made.

The United States and South Korea worry that if Moscow and Pyongyang resume their partnership, Kim may have access to some highly sensitive Russian missile technology.

Russian diplomats said that Washington had no business lecturing Moscow after strengthening its alliances throughout the globe, particularly by sending a nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine to South Korea in July.

The Biden administration would not be afraid to put more sanctions on Russia and North Korea if they reach new arms agreements, according to the US State Department’s statement on Wednesday.

The Kremlin claims it abides by UN sanctions but that it has the right to build friendly relations with its neighbours, including on touchy subjects.

Kim travelled to Russia on a special train on Tuesday, met with Putin on a summit in Vostochny on Wednesday, and then appeared in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, 6,000 kilometres (3,700 miles) east of Moscow, on Friday.

On Friday in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, it was captured on camera as his Maybach limousine was driven into his train with the use of a special platform.

(With agency inputs)