A new twist to the story
If you were asked to name the three countries on the planet with the greatest power in terms of their military, economic impact and general, geopolitical influence, which ones would they be? A convincing case could obviously be made for the United States, China and Russia. And what else do these three nations have in common? Very soon, all of their leaders will have met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. That’s because Kim is looking to complete the hat trick with an announced summit with Vladimir Putin in Russia, possibly by the end of this week. And that means that an already complicated situation on the peninsula just became even more tangled. (Associated Press)
North Korea confirmed Tuesday that leader Kim Jong Un will soon visit Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin in a summit that comes at a crucial moment for tenuous diplomacy meant to rid the North of its nuclear arsenal…
The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency released a terse, two-sentence statement saying Kim “will soon pay a visit to the Russian Federation,” and that he and Putin “will have talks.” A date for the meeting was not released, and it wasn’t clear if Kim would fly or take his armored train. There are some indications the meeting will be held this week in the far-eastern port of Vladivostok, not too far from Russia’s border with the North.
The Kremlin said in a brief statement last week that Kim will visit Russia “in the second half of April,” but gave no further details.
