TÊTE-À-TÊTE

Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin to Meet in April

The Kremlin announced the two leaders would meet in Russia before the end of the month.

North Korea confirmed that its leader, Kim Jong Un, would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to have “talks,” the Associated Press reports. The country’s state-run media outlet reported that Kim would “soon pay a visit to the Russian Federation” to meet with Putin, with no date announced. The Kremlin also confirmed the meeting, only stating that it would take place “in the second half of April.” Russia is reportedly interested in gaining access to North Korea’s rare minerals, while North Korea would like more “electricity supplies” from Russia and investment from the country. News of the meeting comes after the second U.S.-North Korean summit earlier this year ended with both sides empty-handed. The U.S. did not get the assurance of nuclear disarmament and North Korea did not get the sanctions relief it hoped for. Since then, North Korea has demanded that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be removed from the talks and criticized National Security Adviser John Bolton for seeking more evidence of disarmament.

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