The leaders met at Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome for a summit that underscores how their interests are aligning in the face of their countries' separate, intensifying confrontations with the U.S.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023.
The decision to meet at Cosmodrome, Russia's most important launch center on its own soil, suggests that Kim is seeking Russian help developing military reconnaissance satellites, which he has described as crucial to enhance the threat of his nuclear-capable missiles. In recent months, North Korea has repeatedly failed to put its first military spy satellite into orbit.
Kim, in turn, expressed support for Moscow's efforts to defend its interests, in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine."Russia is currently engaged in a just fight against hegemonic forces to defend its sovereign rights, security and interests," the North Korean leader said."I take this opportunity to affirm that we will always stand with Russia on the anti-imperialist front and the front of independence.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff didn't immediately say how far the North Korean missiles flew. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the missiles landed in the waters outside of the country's exclusive economic zones and there were no reports of damages to vessels or aircraft.Official photos showed that Kim was accompanied by Pak Thae Song, chairman of North Korea's space science and technology committee, and navy Adm.
Despite the recent frequency of North Korean missile firings, Wednesday's launches on the eve of the summit came as a surprise. South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said it was the first time the North launched a missile while Kim was traveling overseas.
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