Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit North Korea on June 18-19, highlighting Moscow’s growing partnership with the reclusive nuclear-armed state, Reuters reported on June 17.
In September 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un invited Putin during a visit to Russia’s Far East. Putin has not visited Pyongyang since July 2020.
“At the invitation of the Chairman of State Affairs of the DPRK, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin will pay a friendly state visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on June 18-19,” Reuters quoted the Kremlin as saying.
Following his North Korean visit, Putin will travel to Vietnam on June 19-20, the Kremlin announced.
Since the onset of the war in Ukraine, Russia has been emphasizing its renewed relationship with North Korea, raising concerns among the United States and its allies in Europe and Asia.
During his two-day visit to Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday, Putin is expected to meet Vietnam’s new president, To Lam, and other leaders.
Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy in Hanoi stated that Putin should not be given a platform to promote his war of aggression.
“No country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalize his atrocities,” Reuters quoted a U.S. spokesperson as saying.
“If he is able to travel freely, it could normalize Russia’s blatant violations of international law,” the spokesperson added.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. However, Vietnam, Russia, and the U.S. are not members of the ICC.
