President Vladimir Putin says he's willing to share details with the United States about his summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un on Thursday, 25 April, potentially raising Russia's influence in the stalemated issue of North Korean denuclearisation.
The two leaders’ first one-on-one did not indicate major changes in North Korea’s position: Putin said Kim is willing to give up nuclear weapons, but only if he gets ironclad security guarantees.
However, Putin said Kim urged him to explain the nuances of North Korea's position to President Donald Trump. Such an interlocutor role could be meaningful in light of Trump's apparent admiration of the Russian leader.
Trump has said he "fell in love" with Kim, possibly indicating a proclivity to being swayed toward accommodation with the North Korean leader, although that declaration came before the Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi in February that collapsed over mismatched demands in sanctions relief and disarmament.
US Acted in ‘Bad Faith’ During Hanoi Summit - KCNA
At Thursday's summit in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from the North Korean border, Kim criticized Washington for taking "unilateral attitude in bad faith" at the Trump-Kim meeting that has caused a diplomatic standstill, North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency said Friday, 26 April. Kim told Putin that the situation on the Korean Peninsula has reached a "critical point" where it could return to tensions and that peace and security will "entirely depend on the U.S. future attitude," the agency said.
The KCNA said Kim and Putin held in-depth discussions to promote “strategic communication and tactical collaboration” over the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and also talked about boosting high-level visits and other exchanges between the countries.
The agency said Putin credited Kim's diplomatic initiatives for stabilizing the situation surrounding the peninsula and accepted Kim's invitation to visit North Korea at a "convenient time." It did not report on any specific agreements regarding North Korea's nuclear weapons program and U.S.-led sanctions against the North.
After the summit, Putin stressed that Moscow and Washington both want North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons. But, he said, the security guarantees Kim demands in exchange should be underwritten by multiple countries, hinting at an arrangement like the six-nation talks Russia participated in until their collapse in 2009.
Putin Will Brief US On Summit
"And we will just as openly discuss this issue with the US leadership," Putin said.
“There are no secrets. Russia’s position always has been transparent. There are no plots of any kind.”Vladamir Putin
Putin's remarks reflect Kim's growing frustration with Washington's efforts to maintain "maximum pressure" until the North commits to denuclearisation.
But his characterization of Kim's comments also suggests there have been no major changes in North Korea's basic position.
North Korea has all along contended that it needs its nuclear arsenal to defend itself against what it sees as US hostility and wants concrete reassurances of its safety — including the removal of the American nuclear threat as an integral part of the denuclearisation of the entire Korean Peninsula.
Trump has made clear that he is eager to work out a deal with North Korea and has already indicated that he thinks he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
Russia’s involvement in the issue could bolster his confidence, though some analysts think Washington and Moscow are too far estranged.
Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the lower house of the Russian parliament, saw the summit as burnishing Russia's credentials.
"The fact that Kim Jon Un asked Vladimir Putin to brief the Chinese and U.S. leadership on the results of the summit attests to Russia's significant role as a guarantor of security in the Asia-Pacific region," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Tass.
It wasn't immediately clear what other agreements the leaders might have struck.
Along with a statement of political support, Kim was believed to be looking for some kind of economic support and possibly even a workaround to sanctions that will force more than 10,000 North Korean laborers in Russia to leave by the end of the year. The laborers are a major source of income for Pyongyang.
Putin said they discussed the issue and would find a solution taking into account "humanitarian" factors, though he didn't say what that would be.
On the economic front, both sides share an interest in enhanced cooperation if sanctions are eased.
Russia would like to gain broader access to North Korea’s mineral resources, including rare metals. Pyongyang, for its part, covets Russia’s electricity supplies and investment to modernize its dilapidated Soviet-built industrial plants, railways and other infrastructure.
For Putin, the summit was also seen as an opportunity for Russia to emerge as an essential player in the North Korean nuclear standoff.
Moscow has kept a relatively low profile as Kim embarked on what has been an audacious diplomatic journey over the past year.
Putin-Kim’s ‘Fruitful Talks’
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, on Thursday, 25 April said they have had fruitful talks about how to defuse a standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear program.
The two leaders spoke after their one-on-one meeting on Thursday, 25 April as they sat down for broader negotiations involving top officials from both sides on the Russky Island near Vladivostok.
Putin said he and Kim "exchanged opinions about what should be done to improve the situation." Kim noted that they had "discussed ways of peaceful settlement" and had "a very fruitful exchange."
Kim's first trip to Russia came about two months after his second summit with President Donald Trump failed because of disputes over US-led sanctions on the North. Putin meanwhile wants to expand Russia's clout in the region and get more leverage with Washington.
(Published in an arrangement with AP)
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