At Pyongyang Airport, Putin and Kim Jong-un disembarked. Reuters Union News reported that on the 19th local time, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in North Korea to begin his state visit. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally welcomed President Putin at the airport despite the late hour.
Russian media outlets such as Sputnik News cited flight tracking sites like Flightradar24, reporting that Putin’s private jet landed at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport at 2:22 a.m. that day. The Kremlin announced through a Telegram channel at 2:46 a.m. that “President Putin has arrived in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.”
Originally, President Putin was scheduled to stay in North Korea until the afternoon of the 19th after arriving late in the evening of the 18th. However, due to the delayed arrival, the 1-night-2-day itinerary was shortened to a day trip. President Putin and Chairman Kim smiled brightly, shook hands, exchanged greetings, and engaged in what appeared to be a friendly conversation, hugging each other twice.
President Putin visited North Korea for a state visit at the invitation of Chairman Kim for a 1-night-2-day itinerary starting on the 18th. However, due to his late arrival in Pyongyang, the visit was limited to a day trip.
Putin’s visit to North Korea is the first in 24 years since July 19-20, 2000. At that time, as the Russian leader, Putin visited North Korea for the first time, meeting with Kim Jong-il, the father of Chairman Kim, and issuing the North Korea-Russia Joint Declaration.
The meeting between President Putin and Chairman Kim is the third one to take place in person, following the Russia-North Korea summit in Vladivostok in April 2019 and the summit at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia in September last year.
President Putin will sign an agreement to elevate the North-Russia relations to a “comprehensive strategic partner” status during the summit with Chairman Kim, focusing on strengthening the ties following Russia’s ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. He is scheduled to depart for Hanoi, Vietnam late in the day.
President Putin is known for often being late to summit meetings, earning him the nickname ‘Latecomer Chief.’ He was late for a meeting with Angela Merkel, the former German Chancellor, in 2014, by 4 hours and 15 minutes, and with Shinzo Abe, the former Japanese Prime Minister, in 2018, by 2 hours and 30 minutes. He has also been tardy for meetings with South Korean leaders, such as being almost 2 hours late for a meeting with Moon Jae-in, the former South Korean President, during the G20 summit. However, arriving in the early morning hours due to several hours of delay during a state visit is somewhat unusual even for President Putin.