North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, second from right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, third from right, bid farewell to each other at Russia’s Vostochny spaceport in this picture provided by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency, Sept. 13, 2023. Yonhap
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to give a grand and lavish welcome to Russian President Vladimir Putin when he visits Pyongyang this week as widely projected, extending the highest level of hospitality fraught with elaborate parades and cheering crowds.
Speculation runs high that Putin will make a two-day trip to the reclusive state starting Tuesday. The Kremlin has yet to make a formal announcement on his visit, but Russian media have reported that he will be on a two-nation tour this week to North Korea and Vietnam.
If realized, it will mark Putin’s first visit to Pyongyang in 24 years. The trip will also come as a reciprocal visit following Kim’s visit to Russia’s Far East in September last year where the two had a rare summit.
Kim, keen on capitalizing on Putin’s visit to strengthen ties with Moscow, is expected to roll out the red carpet for the Russian leader throughout his stay in Pyongyang.
Given his past record, Kim is likely to receive Putin in person at Sunan International Airport in the North’s capital.
Kim personally greeted then South Korean President Moon Jae-in in September 2018 when they met in Pyongyang for an inter-Korean summit. Kim also appeared with his wife, Ri Sol-ju, to receive Chinese President Xi Jinping in June 2019.
The welcoming ceremony at the airport will most likely come with the playing of the two countries’ national anthems, followed by the firing of a gun salute and an inspection of the North’s honor guard.
Kim and Putin could ride an open vehicle together, holding up and waving their hands to an enthusiastic cheering crowd of North Korean people as they leave the airport.
Kim held these car parades with Moon and Xi, as well as with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel when he visited North Korea in November 2018.
It is also a possibility that Kim could use the Aurus Senat limousine, gifted by Putin earlier this year, for the car parade, as a way to demonstrate the special bond between the two leaders and undermine the international sanctions regime banning the North from obtaining luxury items.
Putin is expected to stay in the Kumsusan Guest Palace, the accommodation provided to Xi during his 2019 visit. Its palace-like structure is known to be surrounded by a lake and a forested walkway.
Before the Kumsusan guest house was built, North Korea used the Baekhwawon Guest Palace. Former Presidents Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun and Moon, and former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and former U.S. President Bill Clinton stayed there.
Commercial satellite imagery by the U.S.-based Planet Labs showed that changes have been made to both guest palaces, suggesting that the North may be planning to use both places for the summit and Putin’s accommodation.
North Korea is also likely preparing art performances for Putin and his delegation. Planet Labs’ satellite imagery showed that large structures have been installed at Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang, typically known as the venue for the North’s military parades.
When Xi visited North Korea, he watched group gymnastics and art performances at Pyongyang’s multi-purpose Rungrado May 1 Stadium.
Putin may also visit Liberation Tower, a memorial park in Pyongyang, to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers of the Soviet Union who fought the 1950-53 Korean War against South Korean and U.S.-led U.N. troops. (Yonhap)
