Al Jazeera :
A meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who rarely travels outside his country, and President Vladimir Putin in Russia lasted about five hours and wrapped up on Wednesday, Russian media outlets have reported.
The pair, arguably the world’s most isolated leaders, had not met since 2019.
They hailed one another as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continues, lauding their “comradeship” as Western sanctions against both of their nations persist.
The two leaders met at Russia’s most important satellite launch centre, the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, just an hour before Kim met Putin.
Asked whether the two leaders would talk about obtaining supplies from North Korea to replenish Moscow’s dwindling stock of weapons and ammunition, Putin said they would discuss “all issues”.
Washington and its allies believe defence cooperation was the priority of the meeting; speculation about military cooperation grew after Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea in July.
Speculation the talks were aimed at weapons deals: ‘All issues’ on the table The pair would discuss “all issues”, Putin said, when asked if the two leaders would talk about getting supplies from North Korea.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, commenting on media speculation about a possible weapons exchange, said the West had breached many contractual obligations by sending Soviet-era weaponry to Ukraine, Reuters news agency reported.
