Putin and Kim pledge stronger ties

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin have pledged to boost ties at their first ever summit near the port city of Vladivostok in Russia’s far east.

Speaking after the meeting with Putin, Kim said the two leaders had a “very meaningful one-on-one exchange of opinions on issues of mutual interest and current issues”.

The leaders reportedly discussed denuclearisation, with Mr Putin offering to support efforts to normalise North Korean-US relations.

Talks between those two powers stalled following a February summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump.

Putin said the pair had discussed relations between the two Koreas, and how to improvement in the situation.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Kim said he hoped for a very useful meeting in developing the relationship between the two countries, who have a long friendship and history, into a more stable and sound one.

This visit is being widely viewed as an opportunity for North Korea to show it has powerful allies following the breakdown of the talks with the US in February.

The country has blamed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the collapse of the Hanoi summit. Earlier this month North Korea demanded that Mr Pompeo be removed from nuclear talks, accusing him of “talking nonsense” and asking for someone “more careful” to replace him.

Via BBC