Russian defense chief shows hypersonic missiles, nuclear-armed bombers to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un

Asia-Pacific, Europe, News September 17, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia’s military and space technology facilities in the Primorsky region on September 16, 2023. Kim inspected Russia’s Kinzhal hypersonic missiles as well as strategic, nuclear-capable bombers.

Kim Jong Un arrived in the city of Artyom, about 40 kilometers away from Vladivostok, the location where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 10. Upon his arrival in Artyom aboard his private armored train, Kim was welcomed by the governor of Russia’s far-eastern Primorsky region Oleg Kozhemyako.

Kim traveled to an airport near Artyom where he inspected Russia’s hypersonic missile, nuclear-capable strategic bombers, and other warplanes. Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other senior military officials joined him on the visit.

Among the displays of Moscow’s aerial superiority were the backbone of the Russian Air Force, strategic bombers Tu-160, Tu-95, and Tu-22M3. “It can fly from Moscow to Japan and then back again,” Shoigu told Kim about one of the aircraft. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also showed keen interest in Russia’s MiG-31I supersonic interceptor aircraft equipped with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile.

Shoigu briefed the North Korean leaders about Russia’s latest Kinzhal missile, an air-launched ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads. The Kinzhal missile has a reported range of 1,500 to 2,000 kilometers. The missile can carry a payload of 480 kilograms. It can travel up to 10 times the speed of sound, making it a hypersonic missile.

^{A Russian MiG-31 fighter jet equipped with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile flies over Red Square during a rehearsal for a flypast, part of a military parade marking the anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in central Moscow, Russia, on May 7, 2022. (Image Credit: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)}

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Tu-160 strategic supersonic bombers have also been outfitted with novel Kh-BD cruise missiles with a range surpassing 6,500 km.

Russia’s Tu-160 strategic bomber can carry “a Kh-BD missile with a range of over 6,500 kilometers,” Russia’s Long-Range Aviation Commander Lieutenant General Sergey Kobylash said during a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu to the Knevichi airfield in Russia.

Kim’s visit to Russia

North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un entered Russia aboard his armored private train on September 10, 2023. Kim traveled across Russian cities to meet President Vladimir Putin for a rare in-person encounter for the first time since 2019.

The meeting between the leaders of the two heavily sanctioned regimes took place on September 13, at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia’s central spaceport in the far-east region. The meeting focused on strengthening bilateral relations as Moscow and Pyongyang are continuing their standoff against Western powers.

^{Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspect Russian military aircraft and missiles put on display at Knevichi aerodrome near Vladivostok in the Primorsky region, Russia, on September 16, 2023. (Image Credit: Russian Defense Ministry)}

Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo along with other Western countries have expressed their concerns about military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. The U.S. said that the meeting between the two leaders and possible military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang is a violation of the U.N. sanctions and that the allies would ensure there was a price to pay.

The U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller commented on Kim’s visit to Russia saying “I will remind both countries that any transfer of arms from North Korea to Russia would be in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.”

“We, of course, have aggressively enforced our sanctions against entities that fund Russia’s war effort, and we will continue to enforce those sanctions and will not hesitate to impose new sanctions if appropriate,” he added.