From Russia with love.
President Vladimir Putin gifted North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un a luxury Russian-made limousine, the Aurus, as part of a show of deepening ties between the two countries, but observers say this could be a sign that North Korea is giving North Korea luxury goods. It said it could violate United Nations resolutions banning the supply of luxury goods to North Korea in an effort to pressure North Korea to stop. That nuclear weapon.
According to North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, the Russian-made limousine was handed over by Russia to Kim’s aides on February 18.
The limo resembles one of the black armored limousines used by President Vladimir Putin, and the North Korean leader liked the car when the Russian president showed it to him last year, leading to the decision to gift Kim with an Aurus. The Kremlin announced on Tuesday. The two met in September at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a Russian spaceport located on the 51st parallel north of the Amur region in Russia’s far east.
On June 15, 2019, a limousine of President Vladimir Putin’s Aurus Senat arrived at the 5th Summit of the Conference on Exchange and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Bishkek, Tajikistan. President Vladimir Putin arrived in Dushanbe on a two-day visit to attend the CICA Summit. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin showed Kim a limousine and Kim sat next to him in the car, appearing to enjoy the ride.
Asked about the gift, Peskov said: “The head of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) saw this car when he was at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, and President Putin personally showed it to him. Mr. Kim also liked this car.”
“Therefore, this decision was made,” Peskov said. “North Korea is our neighbor and close neighbor, and we intend and will continue to develop our relationships with all of our neighbors, including North Korea.”
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim’s sister expressed Kim Jong-un’s gratitude to President Putin to the Russian side, saying, “This gift clearly shows the special personal relationship between the leaders.” I conveyed this politely.”
Mr. Kim, 40, is known to own a large number of foreign-made luxury cars that are believed to have been smuggled into his country in violation of United Nations resolutions. Kim arrived at the September summit in a Maybach limousine loaded onto a special train from Pyongyang, but he is also said to own several Mercedes limousines, a Rolls-Royce Phantom, and a Lexus sport utility vehicle. Ru.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (left) during talks at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region on September 13, 2023. (Mikhail Metzel/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
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According to the Associated Press, Kim reportedly used a Mercedes-Maybach S600 Pullman Guard during two summits with then-President Donald Trump, in Singapore in 2018 and Vietnam in 2019.
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was closely monitoring cooperation between Russia and North Korea and called on both countries to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Lim Soo-seok, a spokesperson for the ministry, said at a press conference that “the Security Council sanctions against North Korea apply to all transport vehicles internationally classified as HS codes 86 to 89 (including luxury cars) to North Korea, regardless of origin. Directly or indirectly, the supply, sale, and movement of , according to Reuters.
North Korea and Russia have significantly increased cooperation since their September summit and since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
This photo released by the Korean Central News Agency on January 28, 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending a submarine-launched cruise missile test with military officials at an undisclosed location in North Korea. . (Korea Central News Agency, via Reuters)
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The United States, South Korea and its partners have accused North Korea of sending conventional weapons to Russia for the Ukraine war in exchange for Russia’s high-tech weapons technology and other aid.
North Korea is also pursuing a nuclear program, and Kim vowed last week to fire on South Korean ships that violate its territorial waters.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this article.
