In 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. However, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some social media users began distributing a video of the summit, claiming it showed Putin and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
In a March 6 Facebook post, the video was captioned, “Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with South Korean President.” In only three days, the video received 2 million views, as per USA Today.
Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin meet in 2019
Putin is seen waiting on a veranda while a man exits a limousine and approaches him. They exchange handshakes. Kim Jong Un is plainly seen exiting the vehicle. “Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un meet in Vladivostok,” according to a BBC News version of the video dated April 25, 2019. The footage does not include South Korean President Moon Jae-in or President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol.
North Korean insiders said a South Korean newspaper with sources in the secretive regime, that they were concerned. A North Korean official also said that if Ukraine had preserved its Soviet nuclear weapons stockpile, it would never have been attacked.
Satellite pictures revealed increased activity at North Korea’s nuclear testing facility at Punggye-ri, revealing the country’s anxieties about its reliance on nuclear weapons. In 2017, the site was utilized for a detonation for the last time. However, it was formally closed in 2018.
Because no foreign inspectors were allowed to see the shutdown, concern emerged as to whether the facility was left in a state that might be quickly reactivated. North Korea claimed in a statement in January that it was looking into “the question of resuming all temporarily halted operations,” according to Daily Express.
On Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that construction work was underway at the Yongbyon nuclear power station, which manufactures nuclear weapons material. According to the South Korean ambassador to Ukraine, Lee Yang-goo, Russia’s intervention has harmed North Korea’s attempts to denuclearize.
North Korea had already attacked the US, rather than Russia, for the invasion of Ukraine, and was one of only four nations to vote against a UN resolution condemning the invasion on March 2.
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