00:00 - Yoon Shin is a reporter and news anchor
00:01 with South Korea's Arirang TV,
00:04 and she joins us now from the capital, Seoul.
00:07 Good to see you again.
00:08 Two hours of talks, that's according to Russian sources.
00:11 What more do we know
00:12 about what the two leaders talked about?
00:14 - Right, so North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
00:18 and Russian President Vladimir Putin
00:20 have met for the first time in more than four years.
00:24 Their meeting, attended by delegations from both countries,
00:26 lasted for about an hour and 30 minutes.
00:29 And afterward, the two leaders had a one-on-one,
00:31 only with interpreters present for about 30 minutes.
00:33 There was no common document signed.
00:36 What's for sure is the two countries
00:38 have promised stronger cooperation.
00:41 And Kim Jong-un called Russia's illegal war with Ukraine
00:43 a, quote, "sacred war against hegemonic forces."
00:46 He went on to say that Kim Jong-un
00:48 would join Moscow's fight against imperialism
00:50 fully and unconditionally.
00:52 Kim also called North Korea's relations with Russia
00:54 their first priority, and Putin, in return,
00:56 also suggested that Russia could help
00:59 North Korea develop satellites.
01:00 He also noted how Kim showed great interest
01:03 in rocket technology, and though there were no specific words
01:06 or mentioning of a weapons deal,
01:07 when asked by a reporter whether Russia
01:09 would help the North launch its own satellites and rockets,
01:12 Putin did respond by saying,
01:14 "That's exactly why they were there."
01:17 - All right, now we have been told,
01:18 again, this comes from Russian official media sources,
01:21 that they're now enjoying a sumptuous lunch.
01:24 Are they expected to continue talking more afterwards?
01:28 - Right, as you mentioned, as of now,
01:31 the leaders are thought to be attending
01:33 an official welcome luncheon,
01:34 and we're still left to hear what will be happening.
01:37 But earlier this morning, Japan's KODO News
01:39 said the two leaders may visit an aircraft plant
01:41 in Kosmo Mosk on Amur that produces
01:44 high-tech fifth-generation jets.
01:46 And a shipyard launching submarines is also there,
01:49 which adds weight to expert speculations
01:52 that Moscow could share its submarine
01:54 ballistic and satellite technologies to Pyongyang.
01:57 And as I mentioned before,
01:58 this is exactly what Pyongyang needs
02:00 to expedite its nuclear capabilities.
02:03 Also, experts in South Korea believe
02:05 a ministerial-level meeting might happen,
02:07 and it's worth noting that Kim Jong-un was accompanied
02:10 by some of his regime's top dogs.
02:12 - I wanted to ask you about the location of this summit,
02:15 which was originally expected to take place in Vladivostok.
02:18 It's actually happening at a cosmodrome,
02:20 a Russian space center.
02:22 What's the significance of the location?
02:25 - Right, as you mentioned,
02:27 the summit took place in the Vostokhani Cosmodrome,
02:30 which is an icon of Russia's high-tech aerospace industry.
02:34 The space launch facility kicked off in 2016
02:37 when Russia launched its Soyuz-2 rocket.
02:40 And just last month, Russia also launched a rocket
02:42 carrying its Luna-25 moon spacecraft.
02:45 It did fail, though.
02:46 And Kim Jong-un apparently asked very detailed questions
02:49 about the technology used there.
02:50 It's a very big site.
02:52 And Putin, in return, suggested that Russia
02:54 could help North Korea develop satellites,
02:56 which has long been an assignment of Pyongyang.
02:58 As you may recall, North Korea has been trying
03:00 to place its own spy satellite in orbit,
03:04 but it failed first in May and then recently in August.
03:07 Now, if Moscow were to hand over their satellite
03:09 and rocket know-how to Pyongyang,
03:11 the country would also go leaps and bounds
03:13 in developing their ICBM technology,
03:15 because it's quite applicable
03:17 for this nuclear weaponry as well.
03:19 Okay. Now, just hours before Kim arrived for the meeting,
03:23 as he was on his way, North Korea fired
03:26 two ballistic missiles towards the sea.
03:29 Talk to us about what message Pyongyang
03:31 is trying to send with that.
03:33 Right. What's worth noting is that this is the first launch
03:39 to take place when Kim wasn't in North Korea.
03:42 Kim has always prioritised security issues.
03:45 That's why he was always present
03:46 whenever they had a missile launch or a big test.
03:49 But experts are reading today's launch,
03:51 the launch of two short-range ballistic missiles
03:54 that happened at around 11.43 and 11.53am here, Korea time.
03:58 They're reading this as the way the regime
04:01 is trying to convey its confidence in military readiness,
04:04 even without the leader, Kim Jong-un, physically being there.
04:07 One expert in Korea that I talked to also highlighted
04:10 how we shouldn't rule out the possibility
04:12 that launch could simply have come in response
04:15 to a possible US surveillance flight
04:16 near the North's airspace.
04:18 All right, Yeon-shin from South Korea's Ariang TV.
04:21 Thank you so much for your analysis.
04:24 Thank you.
04:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]
