Kremlin Palace stated on the 2nd that Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Commissioner Kim Jong-un are expected to continue their dialogue as they attend the 80th anniversary event of China's Victory Day on the 3rd (local time).
According to the TASS news agency, Yuri Ushakov, an advisor for foreign policy at the Kremlin Palace, announced that President Putin and Commissioner Kim will attend the 80th anniversary parade and banquet of Victory Day held at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on the 3rd. He added that they assume the two leaders will continue their dialogue afterward.
Ushakov noted, "We know that he (Kim Jong-un) is already in China," adding, "We have conveyed the invitation to the North Korean side and think that there will be a dialogue," implying the possibility of a North Korea-Russia summit.
This will be the first face-to-face meeting between President Putin and Commissioner Kim in about 1 year and 3 months. The two leaders last met in April 2019 in Vladivostok, Russia, in September 2023 at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia, and are set to meet again this time in Pyongyang, North Korea, in June 2024.
Earlier, Ushakov indicated that at the Victory Day parade in China, President Putin would be seated to the right of Chinese President Xi Jinping, while Commissioner Kim would be to the left. This will be the first time that the leaders of North Korea, China, and Russia stand together since the end of the Cold War.
President Putin arrived in Tianjin, China, on the 31st of last month and completed the schedule of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit for two days before arriving in Beijing on this day and meeting with President Xi. Commissioner Kim departed from North Korea by train the day before and arrived in Beijing that afternoon.
President Putin and Commissioner Kim have been developing their bilateral relationship across the board since they signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement last year. In particular, North Korea has been overtly tightening military ties by supporting combat troops for Russia's operation to reclaim Kursk.