Russian officials who entered before Putin and Kim Jong-un were escorted out of the negotiating room

A North Korean official has escorted Russian ministers out of a meeting room in Pyongyang after they entered the room before dictator Kim Jong-un. This is evidenced by footage from a live broadcast of Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang, which was brought to the attention of RBC.

Among those present in the hall were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Ministers Vitaly Savelyev and Alexander Novak, and the head of Roscosmos Yuri Borisov.

As RBK writes, the officials entered the negotiating room and began to lay out papers when a North Korean civil servant approached them and asked them to "go out into the hall." He explained his demand by saying that Kim Jong-un should be the first to enter the room. In response, one of the members of the Russian delegation noted in surprise: "Why did we come here? You should have warned us right away."

The Moscow Times notes that the broadcast is interrupted at this point. The broadcast is resumed only with the start of Russian-Korean talks in an expanded format with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un.

Putin's visit to North Korea took place on June 18-19. During the meeting, Putin and Kim Jong-un signed the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Russia and the DPRK, which provides for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the participants.

According to Putin, the new agreement will replace the 1961 Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance, the 2000 Treaty of Friendship, Good-Neighborliness and Cooperation, as well as the Pyongyang and Moscow Declarations signed in 2000 and 2001.

In addition, during the meeting, Putin presented Kim Jong-un with an Aurus limousine, an admiral's dagger, and a tea set. According to Vladimir Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov, the North Korean dictator also presented Putin with "good gifts." Ushakov did not specify what kind.

In February 2024, Putin already gave the same limousine to Kim Jong-un in honor of his birthday, Bloomberg writes . According to the agency, with this gift, Putin violated the UN Security Council sanctions imposed on the DPRK due to the republic's nuclear program.

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