Russia Ukraine war live: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrives in Russia ahead of talk with Puti

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia ahead of an expected meeting with president Vladimir Putin, Russian news agency Interfax reported citing footage from Rossiya-1 TV state channel.

The meeting has sparked Western concerns about a potential arms deal for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin will meet after the Vladivostok forum, Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying.

Mr Kim is making his first foreign trip since the Covid-19 pandemic during which North Korea tightly enforced border controls for more than three years.

Associated Press journalists near the North Korea-Russia frontier saw a green train with yellow trim similar to one Mr Kim used during previous foreign trips at a station on the North Korean side of a border river on Monday.

Experts say North Korea would struggle to acquire such capabilities without external help, although it is not clear if Russia would share such sensitive technologies.

Kim Jong-un is also apparently bringing Jo Chun Ryong, a ruling party official in charge of munitions policies who had accompanied the leader on his recent tours to factories producing artillery shells and missiles, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which analysed the North Korean photos.

North Korea may have tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets based on Soviet designs that could give a huge boost to the Russian army in Ukraine, analysts say.

A possible venue where Mr Kim and Mr Putin could meet is the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, where Mr Putin arrived on Monday to attend an international forum that runs through Wednesday, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.

Kim Jong-un’s delegation likely includes his foreign minister Choe Sun Hui, and his top two military officials – Korean People’s Army marshals Ri Pyong Chol and Pak Jong Chon.

Other officials identified in North Korean state media photos may hint at what Mr Kim might seek from Mr Putin and what he would be willing to give.

The officials include Pak Thae Song, chair of North Korea’s space science and technology committee, and Navy admiral Kim Myong Sik, who are linked with North Korean efforts to acquire spy satellites and nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines.

Experts say North Korea would struggle to acquire such capabilities without external help, although it is not clear if Russia would share such sensitive technologies.

Mr Kim is also apparently bringing Jo Chun Ryong, a ruling party official in charge of munitions policies who had accompanied the leader on his recent tours to factories producing artillery shells and missiles, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which analysed the North Korean photos.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in Russia, Japanese media reported today, for what the Kremlin said would be a comprehensive discussion with president Vladimir Putin amid warnings from Washington they should not agree on an arms deal.

Kim left Pyongyang for Russia on Sunday on his private train, the North’s state media reported, accompanied by top arms industry and military officials and the foreign minister.

Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported citing an unnamed Russian official source that the green train carrying Mr Kim arrived at Khasan station, the main rail gateway to Russia’s Far East from North Korea.

South Korea’s defence ministry spokesperson said it believes Mr Kim entered Russia early today.

Mr Kim does not travel abroad frequently, making just seven trips away from his country and twice stepping across the inter-Korean border in his 12 years in power. Four of those trips were to the North’s main political ally, China.

Ukraine has fought back courageously against Mr Putin’s warped bid to restore territory lost to Moscow with the collapse of the Soviet Union and has continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid.

NATO Deputy-General Secretary Mircea Geoana said on Monday there is “no risk” that Alliance member Romania will be dragged into a war following the recent discovery of drone fragments on its territory near the border with war-torn Ukraine.

“The most important thing is to re-confirm the fact that there is no indication of a deliberate action (by Russia) to strike Romanian territory and therefore NATO territory,” Geoana told journalists during a visit to a school near Romania’s capital, Bucharest.

The NATO deputy chief’s comments come days after Romanian authorities have twice confirmed the discovery of drone fragments on the country’s soil amid sustained attacks by Russian forces on Ukraine’s Danube River ports across the river from NATO member Romania.

Ukraine only has around 45 days left before poor weather conditions hinder its counter-offensive against Russia, the head of the US military has said.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, General Mark Milley said it will become “very difficult to manoeuvre” once the rains come.

“That offensive kicked off about 90 days ago,” he said.

Complacency could be the enemy of success in Ukraine. It is 564 days since Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine shook to the core assumptions about our UK and European security. War in Europe is a brutal reminder that to be secure at home, we must be strong abroad – and that our allies are the UK’s great strategic strength. Defence of the UK starts in Ukraine.

Despite deeply dug and heavily mined Russian defences, the Ukrainians are gradually getting the upper hand on the battlefield in the south, as well as diversifying the ways it is hitting the enemy – from airfields at depth in Russia, to targets in Crimea, to Russian ships in the Black Sea.

Some have criticised the slow pace of Ukraine’s counter-offensive. Yet its forces are making a similar rate of progress as British troops advancing into Normandy after the D-Day landings. Now is the time for Ukraine’s allies to double down on our support.

Britain’s miliary backing of Zelensky has been dwarfed by our EU allies, writes shadow defence secretary John Healey. If we are serious about defeating Putin – and defending Britain – we must double down on our support: