Russian President Vladimir Putin gave North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a luxury Russian Aurus limousine as a gift, because the latter liked the car when it was shown to him last year, the Kremlin said yesterday.
When Kim visited eastern Russia in September last year, Putin showed Kim one of the black armored limousines that he uses. Kim sat beside Putin in the car at the Vostochny Cosmodrome and appeared to enjoy it.
“When the head of the DPRK [Democratic Republic of North Korea] was at the Vostochny cosmodrome, he looked at this car, Putin showed it to him personally, and like many people, Kim liked this car,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the gift.
Photo: Reuters
“So this decision was made,” Peskov said. “North Korea is our neighbor, our close neighbor, and we intend, and will continue, to develop our relations with all neighbors, including North Korea.”
Russia has stepped up ties with North Korea and other countries hostile to the US, such as Iran since the start of the war with Ukraine — relations that are a source of concern to the West.
The US has accused the North of supplying Russia with artillery shells and missiles used in Ukraine. Moscow and Pyongyang deny the US accusations, but last year vowed to deepen military relations.
The Russian-made limousine was delivered to Kim’s top aides by the Russian side on Sunday, North Korea’s official KCNA news agency said.
Kim’s sister “courteously conveyed Kim Jong-un’s thanks to Putin to the Russian side, saying that the gift serves as a clear demonstration of the special personal relations between the top leaders,” KCNA reported.
The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it was closely monitoring the cooperation between Russia and North Korea while urging both countries to comply with UN Security Council resolutions.
“Security Council sanctions on North Korea prohibit directly or indirectly supplying, selling or moving all transportation vehicles internationally categorized as HS Code 86 through to 89 regardless of their origin to North Korea including luxury cars,” ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk told a media briefing.
According to the automaker’s Web site, the car is Russia’s first full-size luxury sedan. It is also Putin’s presidential car.
Taiwan, which accounts for more than half of the global outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing market, is well-positioned to develop copackaged optics (CPO) and manufacture precision silicon photonics chips, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Silicon photonics are emerging as a mainstream optical communications technology and is seen as key to overcoming bottlenecks in AI computing power. The technology is a key project under the government’s New 10 Major AI Infrastructure Projects, with industry, government, academia and research institutions working to overcome critical technological hurdles and build a self-reliant silicon photonics supply chain, the ministry said. Nvidia Corp in March invested US$4
The air force plans to build 26 more hardened aircraft shelters as the number of F-16Vs stationed along Taiwan’s east coast is expected to reach 120 when the final shipment of 66 jets procured from the US arrives. The incoming jets would be stationed at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung County, augmenting the F-16V Block 20s operated by the 5th Tactical Fighter Wing in Hualien County, officials said yesterday. The air force plans to allocate more than NT$6.88 billion (US$218.1 million) from next year to 2031 to build the shelters in Hualien and Taitung as part of the implementation of a “one
Palau’s president yesterday called for a “unified” Pacific response to a missile test by China in July, while Taiwan and its Pacific allies a day earlier at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) reaffirmed their commitment to peace, stability and prosperity. China gave only a handful of nations short notice before test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile in July, sparking condemnation from several Pacific leaders. The 18-member PIF being held in Palau was expected to release a communique after press time last night, with a formal response to the test possibly included. Palau, which invited Taiwan to attend sideline events as an aid partner, urged
China’s continued efforts to inject geopolitical rivalry into the region and disrupt Pacific nations’ discussions of regional issues warrant greater international attention, a foreign affairs official said yesterday. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) last week led a delegation to diplomatic ally Palau to attend events related to the 55th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) summit. However, the absence of some member-state leaders has been interpreted by some people as a sign of fracturing in Pacific unity. Thirteen PIF members were represented by their heads of state or government, while Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Samoa sent ministerial-level representatives, a diplomatic official
RSS