Media coverage
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Media coverage
Title Kim-Putin summit at Russian space center: What does it mean? Degree of recognition International Media name/outlet THE KOREA HERALD Media type Print Duration/Length/Size 1pag. Country/Territory Netherlands Date 13/09/23 Description Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia's massive spaceport that is about 5,500 kilometers east of Moscow, drew international attention on Wednesday, as the leaders of two isolated countries, North Korea and Russia, met in a high-profile summit there.The spaceport sprawls across 551.5 square kilometers of land -- outsizing South Korea's state-run Naro Space Center by over 100 times. It began operation as the main spaceport there in 2016, replacing Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which had been the main launch site for the Soviet Union since the 1950s.As the space center symbolizes Russia's ambitions to space exploration, President Vladimir Putin holding the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un there raised the possibility of the two forging technology cooperation as well as an arms deal.The summit was held at a time when North Korea is desperately looking for a breakthrough in weapons development, as the reclusive Kim regime is halfway through its five-year plan to achieve military goals for defense science and weapons systems.'North Korea lags behind in the technology for military reconnaissance satellites and tactical submarines as it pursues its five-year military goals,' said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University��s Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul.'North Korea has long envisaged Russia's advanced technology in those fields, and the prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine allowed North Korea to leverage opportunities to make room (for negotiations with Russia).'Photos revealed by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency showed that among the North Korean delegation are Pak Thae-song, a key North Korean official dedicated to the development of a spy satellite, as well as Kim Myong-sik, who is responsible for tasks related to the development of a tactical nuclear-armed submarine.This cadre, along with Putin's revelation of his plans to visit the mega spaceport earlier this week, raised speculations that cooperation between the two countries over space technology could be on the agenda of the summit.The summit bodes well for Kim's ambition to obtain technology or information related to space projectiles... Persons M. Langbroek