Space base potential venue for Kim Jong Un-Putin talks

We've been following North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's first trip abroad in four years to Russia - where he is due to meet President Vladimir Putin where it is thought the two men will discuss a potential arms deal.

As far as we know Kim is still travelling on his personal, heavily armoured, train to wherever the leaders are going to meet - in Russia's far east. So what have we learned today?

• The US says Moscow wants to buy North Korean ammunitions for the war in Ukraine
• For its part, North Korea is likely to be keen on food aid and some kind of technology transfer
• Putin is in Russia's far east for an economic forum, and while it was thought he'd meet Kim in Vladivostok, that's been thrown into doubt
• Kim's train has reportedly continued north and away from the port city
• It's been reported in Japan and South Korea that the two could meet at Russia's Vostochny space centre
• If the two countries strike a deal to supply each other with weapons, Putin will have violated UN sanctions

While it was once considered Russia's most important strategic ally in the South Caucasus region, the former Soviet republic of Armenia appears to be distancing itself from Moscow's influence.

One source of tension is believed to be Russia's heavy focus on the war in Ukraine - with Armenia finding it hard to get the weapons it needs amid continuing tensions with neighbouring Azerbaijan.

Russia is also not happy that Armenia is planning to sign up to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in a bid to bring war crimes charges against Azerbaijan.

The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and membership for Azerbaijan means he wouldn't be able to visit.

If more of Russia's long-standing allies continue to distance themselves, Putin will need to ensure this summit with Kim Jong Un is a success as he's running dangerously low on strategically useful friends.

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If Russia and North Korea strike a deal to supply the former with weapons, President Putin will have violated the sanctions imposed on Pyongyang by the UN Security Council – sanctions it is signatory to.

It's not the first time Russia has violated UN principles in the past couple of years despite being a core member of the organisation.

In fact, Russia is one of just five permanent members of the UN (alongside the US, UK, China and France), which means it cannot be removed from its seat at the table.

That means that, outside of even more sanctions from other countries, there is little in the way of consequences for President Putin.

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Travelling by air to Russia is not an option for Kim Jong Un because his plane is not up to the job, says a former North Korean official.

"His plane is old, hasn't been properly maintained, and if there's an accident, it would be all over in the air, so there would be no time to recover," Ko Young Hwan, a former diplomat who defected to South Korea in 1991 told Reuters.

"So, from a security and equipment perspective, I think it's inadequate," he said.

Travelling by car is not a good choice either, Ko said. Aside from the sheer distance (it's a 22-hour drive from the border to the Vostochny Cosmodrome, if indeed a meeting takes place there), the roads in North Korea are underdeveloped.

"Most of the roads in North Korea are not in good condition, with many dirt roads, and when it rains, the roads become unusable," he said.

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No official guest list has been circulated, but we've seen some familiar faces in pictures of Kim Jong Un and his delegation boarding the train bound for Russia.

A number of North Korea's key political, economic and defence figures were photographed aboard the train (we assume they didn't get off before it left) including:

• Choe Son Hui, the foreign minister, who is best known to the West for organising a summit with Donald Trump
• Ri Pyong Chol, the highest-ranking military figure who oversees the defence industry including nuclear and missile programmes
• Pak Thae Song, chairman of a space and technology committee

• Jo Chun Ryong, director of the munitions industry department

Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister, was seen standing beside the train, although we don't know if she boarded, and we think Defence Minister Kang Sun Nam could be on board too, although we can't confidently identify him in photos.

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Vladimir Putin has described the legal cases against Donald Trump as "politically motivated persecution".

The former US president is facing dozens of criminal charges and will go on trial several times in the next 18 months.

"Everything that's happening with Trump is politically motivated persecution of one's political rival, that's what it is. And it's being done before the eyes of the US public and the whole world. They've simply exposed their internal problems," he told attendees at an economic forum in Vladivostok.

Putin continued: "In this sense, if they are trying to fight us in some way, it's good, because it shows who is fighting us. It shows, as they said back in Soviet times, 'the bestial face of American imperialism, the bestial grin'."

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One topic likely to be high on Kim Jong Un's agenda in Russia is the supply of food.

Pyongyang has heavily invested in military technology, but less so on agricultural practices - meaning its food stocks remain vulnerable.

A UN food assessment in 2019 estimated that more than 10 million North Koreans were suffering from “severe food shortages” after the worst harvest in a decade.

Two years later, a BBC report revealed that a food shortage loomed again over the winter, leaving vulnerable locals to starve.

Anne-Claire Legendre, spokeswoman for the French foreign ministry, said Kim Jong Un's visit to Russia shows Moscow's international isolation following its invasion of Ukraine.

"Russia is isolated to the point of being forced to turn to North Korea," Ms Legendre told reporters on Tuesday.

"This is a very strong sign of its international isolation," she added.

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As Kim Jong Un will be discussing Russia's need for more weapons with President Putin the BBC looked into what missiles North Korea currently has and how they are being tested.

North Korea has tested ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles in recent years.

These can fly at several times the speed of sound and at low altitude to escape radar detection.

In April, the country tested what it called its "most powerful" missile - the Hwasong-18.

Its true range is estimated to be in excess of 15,000km, according to the US-based CSIS Missile Defense Project.

Last July a second test saw a Hwasong-18 reach a claimed altitude of over 6,600km, with a flight time of 74 minutes.

In November 2022 an intercontinental ballistic missile was tested and could have reached the US mainland, according to the Japanese government.

North Korea tested a record number of missiles in 2022, including ones capable of reaching US territory.

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A meeting between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome would be symbolic given the North Korean leader’s interest in launching a satellite into space, says Gabriela Bernal, a researcher at the University of North Korean Studies in South Korea.

It's all speculative, she says, but there are some potential benefits in a cosmodrome meeting for the North Korean leader.

Talks there could raise the chances of North Korea receiving technical assistance from Russia for its space programme, she says, adding that Kim Jong Un has had two failed satellite launches recently.

If the meeting does indeed take place in Vostochny, it may also be better for security reasons, Bernal says, as most expected the two leaders to meet in Vladivostok as they did in the past. A change of location to a lesser known area would make sense in terms of security for Kim, she says.

The Vostochny cosmodrome, located in Russia's far east near the border with China, has been suggested as the possible meeting place for President Putin and Kim Jong Un.

It is the country's first commercial space centre and is one of Vladimir Putin's pet projects. Its first launch was in 2016.

Kirill Kudryavtsev via Getty ImagesCopyright: Kirill Kudryavtsev via Getty Images

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Satellite surveillance has so far not picked up where Kim Jong Un is heading as his train trundles through Russia's far east, so foreign media are turning to a more traditional method - inside sources.

Japan's Kyodo News, quoting "sources close to Russian authorities", reports the train is heading north towards Russia's Amur region, where the Vostochny Cosmodrome is.

South Korea's KBS World also reported "observers" see the cosmodrome as a potential venue due to Kim's train having travelled north of Vladivostok - which was thought to be his original destination.

The New York Times, in a piece last week previewing the talks, also attributed to an unnamed source the idea that Vostochny Cosmodrome would be a stop on Kim Jong Un's trip.

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We thought Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin were going to meet in Vladivostok because of the Eastern Economic Forum - the Russian leader's signature platform to engage with Asian economies.

But his "Look East" policy has been damaged by the invasion of Ukraine. The forum was always dominated by China but Japan and South Korea used to attend too.

Now Russia has lost both as economic partners because of the war.

Beijing also hasn't sent a senior representative this time when previously President Xi Jinping had addressed the forum.

"This year shows Russia's isolation - apart from Kim - there are no other heads of state from Asia speaking at the Forum," says Asia Society's Philipp Ivanov, an expert on China-Russia relations.

"It is a reminder that while the countries of the Global South may not condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine, only a few including China are risking putting their economic eggs in Russia’s high-risk basket."

The Vostochny space centre - where Kim Jong Un is reportedly headed and which President Putin plans to visit - is Russia's first purpose-built civilian site for space launches.

Located in Russia's far east well away from big cities, the site used to be a Soviet-era missile base called Svobodny. The first launch from the new-look centre took place in 2016, and there have been several more since.

Vostochny is regarded as one of President Putin's pet projects - in September 2019, he called it the "country's most important construction project of national significance."

The development has been tainted by massive theft and corruption, however, and the project lost a reported £133m ($172m). In 2019, Russian authorities reported that 58 officials were found guilty of fraud and abuse of office.

Read our article about Vostochny here.

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Trains do not tend to be the preferred mode of travel for world leaders when making international trips, but the Kims - more often than not - have chosen to take the slow and winding route on board their famous VIP train.

Because each carriage is heavily armoured, the train is exceptionally heavy and therefore slow.

Kim Jong Un’s previous trip to Vladivostok took 20 hours. The journey to Vietnam in 2019 to meet Donald Trump took more than 60.

Kim’s father Kim Jong-il was reportedly afraid of flying and did not trust the country’s fleet of aging Soviet-era aircraft.

The Kim family are also paranoid about their security and trips abroad are seen as fraught with danger. Aeroplanes can be shot out of the sky, while trains are harder to track.

A 2009 local media report suggested that on a previous trip, a security train travelled ahead checking for threats and making sure the track was clear.

While we've been trying to work out Kim Jong Un's whereabouts, Vladimir Putin has been addressing the annual Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. Here's what he has been saying:

• The Soviet invasions of Hungary and Czechoslovakia were both "wrong" and a "mistake"
• Countries should not do anything in foreign policy which "harms the interests of other peoples"
• Washington has "no friends, only interests" and the US is making the same mistakes as the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union invaded Hungary in 1956, with at least 2,600 Hungarians killed in the fighting.

Around 137 Czechs and Slovaks died after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.

In 2022, Putin sent tens of thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine, triggering the biggest land war in Europe since World War Two.

• We've got more on Putin's comments here

We've spent the whole day in Asia monitoring Kim's train - my UK colleagues and BBC Verify have now taken over the watch.

He arrived at the Russian border this morning as per predictions. But then he diverged - pulling away from Vladivostok on the coast to head north.

There have been reports he might visit a space centre: the Vostochny Cosmodrome is Russia's most advanced and Pyongyang is struggling to launch its satellites.

But the idea gathered steam once he passed Ussurisyk - and about an hour later Putin confirmed that he would also visit the site.

A meeting to seal an arms deal at a space launch site now seems on the cards. The train is still moving - stay on this page for the latest developments.

Thanks to Derek Cai, Kelly Ng and Nicholas Yong who worked on this page with me in Singapore.

An arms deal between Moscow and Pyongyang would represent quite a shift change.

Until recently Russia had been full-square behind UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme.

Among other things, those sanctions ban the trade of weapons with North Korea.

“Never mind. A signature can be revoked," Russian tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets said last week.

More than a year and a half into a war that has gone badly wrong for Russia, Moscow may well need to replenish its munitions stocks. It may well see a deal with Pyongyang as a way of helping to achieve that.

But that doesn’t mean that, without North Korea’s help, Russia’s war machine is about to grind to a halt.

“Putin is not desperate,” believes former foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev. “He can sustain this for a very long time and he can adapt."