SEOUL (TIP): North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his unwavering support for Russia’s war in Ukraine during a meeting with a top Russian security official in Pyongyang, North Korean state media said Saturday. Friday’s meeting between Kim and Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s Security Council secretary, followed a South Korean intelligence assessment in late February that North Korea had likely sent additional troops to Russia after its forces suffered heavy casualties fighting in the Russian-Ukraine war.
Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after US President Donald Trump spoke with the two countries’ leaders, though it remains to be seen when it might take effect and what targets would be off-limits.
North Korean and Russian state media said Kim and Shoigu discussed various issues, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, Moscow’s dialogues with the Trump administration and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.
They reaffirmed the willingness of the two countries leaders to unconditionally uphold a major mutual defense treaty reached at a summit last year in Pyongyang, which pledges mutual assistance if either country faces aggression, according to the reports.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim during the meeting said his government will invariably support Russia in the struggle for defending national sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests. Shoigu conveyed a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who extended his greetings to Kim and vowed to give utmost attention to implementing agreements reached in their recent summits.
He expressed gratitude for North Korea’s solidarity with Russia’s position on all critical geopolitical issues, particularly on the Ukrainian issue, according to his televised comments.
North Korean and Russia media didn’t say whether any new agreements were reached before Shoigu departed Pyongyang later on Friday.
North Korea has been supplying a vast amount of conventional weapons to Russia, and last fall it sent about 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia as well, according to US, South Korean and Ukraine intelligence officials.
In its February 27 statement, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said it was trying to determine exactly how many more troops North Korea has deployed to Russia.
South Korean media put the number of newly deployed North Korean soldiers at about 1,000 to 3,000 South Korea, the US and others suspect North Korea is receiving economic and military assistance from Russia in return for providing weapons and troops. (AP)
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un backs Russia’s war in Ukraine in talks with top official
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un lost 20 kg but remains healthy: Seoul
Seoul (South Korea) (TIP): North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has recently lost about 20 kg (44 pounds), but remains healthy and is trying to boost public loyalty to him in the face of worsening economic problems, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on October 28.
The National Intelligence Service gave the assessment during a closed-door parliamentary briefing, saying it used artificial intelligence techniques, an analysis of super-resolution video of Kim and other methods to investigate Kim’s condition, said two lawmakers who attended the session.
Kim’s heath has been a focus of keen outside attention in recent months because he has appeared noticeably thinner in state media photos and videos. Kim, 37, hasn’t publicly anointed a successor and some experts say an abrupt incapacitation could trigger chaos in the impoverished nuclear-armed country.
Despite Kim’s thinner appearance, longtime North Korea observers have said Kim has no apparent health problems and his weight loss is likely the result of his efforts to improve his physique. They noted that he has continued his regular public activities and no unusual developments have been seen in North Korean videos.
But unconfirmed rumours about him have continued to appear, with one tabloid claiming that recent public appearances used an impostor. The NIS dismissed that report as groundless, lawmaker Kim Byung-kee said.
He said the NIS told the parliamentary session that Kim’s weight has fallen from about 140 kilograms (308 pounds) to 120 kilograms (264 pounds). The NIS has previously said Kim is about 170 centimeters (5 feet, 8 inches) tall.
It said Kim has been engaged in public activities for 70 days so far this year, a 45% increase from the same period last year.
The lawmaker said the NIS found that Kim had photos of his late father and grandfather — who ruled North Korea before him — removed from a Workers’ Party conference room.
Another lawmaker, Ha Tae-keung, quoted the NIS as saying North Korea has begun using the term “Kimjongunism,” a political ideology named after Kim Jong Un that is independent of existing ideologies named after his father and grandfather, “KimJongilism” and “Kimilsungism.”
After about 10 years in office, Kim is struggling to overcome what appears to be the toughest period of his rule due to economic hardships worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the NIS, North Korea’s annual trade with China, its main ally and economic lifeline, declined by two-thirds to $158 million through September this year compared to the previous year, Ha said.
Korean officials are struggling to deal with soaring prices of goods and shortages of medicine and other essential supplies that have accelerated the spread of water-borne diseases such as typhoid fever. The country has also been unable to import the paper and ink it uses to print banknotes, forcing North Korean officials to issue temporary currency, according to Ha’s account of the NIS briefing.
While reduced trade has limited the supply of materials needed for industrial activity, North Korean officials are pushing workers hard to increase production. Excessive factory operations caused an explosion at a major fertilizer plant in August, Ha quoted the NIS as saying. AP