Recently, North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un received a special gift - a Russian-made limousine, presented by Russia's Vladimir Putin. The move has once again drawn international attention, especially in the United States, which has expressed nervous concern about the warming of relations between North Korea and Russia.
North Korea's official KCNA news agency reported on Tuesday that the sedan was delivered by a Russian delegation on Sunday. Kim Jong-un's sister, North Korea's senior ** Kim Yo-jong, thanked Putin on behalf of her brother and said: "This gift clearly demonstrates the special personal relationship between (North Korea) and Russia's top leader." ”
U.S. intelligence** is showing growing concern about this new strategic partnership. Russia has repeatedly fired North Korean-supplied short-range ballistic missiles at targets in Ukraine in recent weeks, sparking international concerns about geopolitical turmoil, sources said. At the same time, the United States is also worried that North Korea may lift some restrictions on Pyongyang's nuclear test program by strengthening relations with Russia.
In January, the meeting of high-level diplomats** between North Korea and Russia in Moscow paved the way for Putin's upcoming visit, which will be Putin's first visit to Pyongyang in more than 20 years. In September last year, Kim Jong-un visited Russia for a summit with Putin, supported the Kremlin's war against Ukraine, and said "I will always stand with Russia."
The United Kingdom has commented that Putin's gift may violate the United Nations sanctions imposed on North Korea's nuclear program.
Interestingly, however, the North Korean leadership's appetite for luxury goods does not appear to have been hampered by the ban on sales. Kim Jong-un has frequently appeared in a variety of high-end cars, the most notable of which is the Mercedes Mai Pullman escort sedan, which is believed to be worth more than $1 million.
In 2018, he appeared as a black Rolls-Royce at a conference with the United States. More interestingly, according to a report by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies in Washington, North Korea had imported two bulletproof Mercedes S600 sedans from the Netherlands, allegedly for Kim Jong-un's use.
The research center also reported that Pyongyang alone imported more than 800 luxury cars from Russian companies between 2015 and 2017. During Kim Jong-un's visit to Russia in September last year, Putin showed the North Korean leader a sedan made by Russian luxury automaker Aurus, and former U.S. Donald Trump also showed Kim Jong-un a first-class Cadillac sedan nicknamed "The Beast" during the 2018 Singapore talks.
Putin's gift of a luxury car, like a silent diplomatic dialogue, reveals more meaningful information, and the future international trend is becoming confusing.