Rare pictures inside North Korea show streets decked out with Putin posters
Vladimir Putin's lavish welcome in North Korea also provided a rare look inside Kim Jong-un's secretive state.
Vladimir Putin's visit to North Korea has provided the world a rare glimpse into the secretive state.
Foreign press are often barred from North Korea, which is consistently ranked at the bottom of the press freedom indexes. However, President Putin's visit has provided rare access to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.
Russian broadcasters filmed eerily quiet streets decked out in huge portraits of Vladimir Putin and Russian flags. One clip showed a completely desolate highway before President Putin's arrival.
Another video showed an honour guard of mounted soldiers and a large crowd of civilians gathered at the square by the Taedong River running through the capital. The scene also included children holding balloons, and giant portraits of the two leaders with national flags adorning the Grand People’s Study Hall. In all clips, the streets in Pyongyang are impeccably clean.
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Today, for the first time in 25 years, Putin will visit North Korea.
— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 18, 2024
Rumors claim he may announce that the Russian Federation can withdraw from the UN sanctions regime against the DPRK, and also ask for more ballistic missiles, shells, and ammunition.
The streets of Pyongyang… pic.twitter.com/RQzWIzwrQN
This morning, President Putin and Kim Jong-un, standing in the sunroof of a car, were greeted by massive crowds of cheering North Koreans.
It is President Putin's first visit to North Korea since 2000, during his first year in office
He embraced Kim Jong-un with a warm hug when he arrived by plane overnight. He was welcomed with a red carpet, lined with hundreds of roses.
One banner outside Pyongyang’s Sunan International Airport read: "The friendship between North Korea and Russia is eternal." One said: "We warmly welcome comrade Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin."
After President Putin arrived, North Korean state television showed his motorcade driving through brightly-lit neighbourhoods, with high-rise buildings fully illuminated in the middle of the night.
The 105-storey-tall Ryugyong Hotel glowed with LED lights showing the words, "Welcome Putin" and "Friendship". The pyramid-shaped skyscraper has been under construction since 1987 and has yet to be completed.
This lavish welcome comes as heavily-sanctioned North Korea has been suffering from shortages of food, fuel and power. North Korea's already depleted economy was made much worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is thought that North Korea suffers from a chronic electricity shortage, with power plants forced to operate at reduced capacity. North Korean deserters have said that Pyongyang residents often prefer to live on lower floors because the lifts are unreliable or have stopped working.
President Putin thanked his North Korean counterpart for his "consistent and unwavering support for Russian policy" when it comes to the Ukraine war.
Since last year, North Korea has shipped 7,000 containers filled with munitions and other military equipment to Russia, according to South Korea’s defence minister Shin Won-sik.
Kim declared that North Korea-Russia relations are entering a period of new flowering. Earlier today, the pair signed a new partnership deal as both countries seek to counter what they perceive as Western aggression.
The Russian leader gifted Kim with a Russian luxury Aurus car, an admiral's dagger, and a tea set, according to presidential aide Yuri Ushakov.