Putin to Visit North Korea and Vietnam Possibly This Month... First North Korea Visit in 24 Years

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit North Korea and Vietnam within the next few weeks, Russian media outlet Vedomosti reported on the 10th (local time).

Vedomosti, citing sources, stated that President Putin could visit North Korea followed by Vietnam as early as this month.

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 30th of last month, Andrey Rudenko, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, announced that preparations for President Putin's visits to North Korea and Vietnam have progressed. Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, also stated on the same day that President Putin's visit to North Korea is being prepared and will be announced in due course.

Since beginning his fifth term in office on the 7th of last month, President Putin has consecutively visited China, Belarus, Uzbekistan, and other countries.

Previously, in September last year, President Putin accepted an invitation from Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, to visit Pyongyang during the North Korea-Russia summit. If President Putin visits North Korea this time, it will be the first visit in 24 years since July 2000, when Kim Jong-il, former Chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea, was in power. Should President Putin's visit to North Korea materialize, it is expected to accelerate the close cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

Alexander Zhevin, Senior Researcher at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Vedomosti that President Putin is likely to discuss restoring North Korea-Russia trade and economic relations to pre-Western sanctions levels during this visit. He also mentioned that issues concerning North Korean migrant workers and tourism development could be on the agenda.

Furthermore, if the North Korea-China-Russia deputy foreign ministers' consultations resume following the previous visit to China and the upcoming visit to North Korea, the North Korea-China-Russia alliance could be solidified in opposition to South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

In March, President Putin accepted an invitation to visit Vietnam during a phone call with Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the top-ranking official in Vietnam.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.