Pact with North Korea will protect us both from aggression, says Putin
With updates from Shaimaa Khalil and Jake Kwon in Seoul, Laura Bicker in Beijing, Ben Tavener in Moscow, Jean Mackenzie in Ukraine and Ayeshea Perera, Yvette Tan, Frances Mao, Kelly Ng and Fan Wang in Singapore
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Edited by Flora Drury
All times stated are UK
How Putin is building alliances intended to taunt the West
Ben Tavener
Moscow producer
Russia has been falling over itself to show that it has friends around the world that sing from the same hymn sheet. From Asia, Latin America, Africa - anyone disenchanted with the ways of a US-led world is welcome.
Out of all his allies, Putin’s meeting today with Kim Jong Un is expected to rattle the West the most, as the two isolated leaders show how they can close ranks and defy sanctions.
At a recent economic forum in St. Petersburg, one of Putin’s key guests was the president of Zimbabwe - another country to have felt the keen sting of Western sanctions.
Putin has also courted closer ties with Iran, which has been keen to sell its military wares.
Read more about how Putin is building alliances to taunt the West here.
Pyongyang's city square decked out in balloons and flags
Pyongyang's central square is crowded with people and colourful decorations as the city gets ready to welcome Putin.
Pictures from Russian state news agency RIA Novosti show dozens of balloons floating above the Kim Il Sung Square, named after North Korea's founding leader - the current leader Kim Jong Un's grand father.
We are expecting that a parade for Putin will be held there soon.
Children dressed in formal clothing are seen holding small balloons. Buildings surrounding the square are adorned in Russian and North Korean flags, as well as portraits of the two country's leaders.
What has happened since Kim and Putin met in September?
As we've been saying, this is due to be the second meeting between the two leaders since September, when Kim took a train to Russia.
That visit really underscored this new era in relations between the two countries - driven by Russia's need for weapons.
Just one month after Kim’s visit, the US issued reports that North Korea was supplying vast amounts of military hardware to Moscow for use in Ukraine.
The US State Department said this week that Pyongyang sent Russia 11,000 containers of munitions in the past year.
And in return we've also seen North Korea make some advances - presumably with help from the Russians.
At the end of last year the North launched its first spy satellite into space - after several previous failed attempts.
On a personal level, the leaders have also given each other gifts. In February, Putin gave Kim - believed to be a car enthusiast - a luxury Russian-made car.
It was an Aurus - a full-sized luxury sedan of the type used by Putin himself. Kim inspected Putin’s own Aurus Senat limousine during his September visit and was invited to get into the back seat.
What do the South Korean public feel about this visit?
Shaimaa Khalil
in Seoul
While not everyone is watching the visit as closely as diplomats, politicians or journalists like us – people we’ve spoken to here have had mixed views about this visit.
Seul-gi Lee did not know about the visit but said she’s anxious about what it will mean for North-South relations.
“I'm a little concerned that with the war in Ukraine dragging on, if Kim Jong Un and Putin meet again, it's not going to be positive for our inter-Korean relations, which seems like it's going from bad to worse," the 35-year-old said.
“I'm very concerned as a citizen who's observing the escalation especially with the recent trash balloon launches,” she said.
But Hyang-nyun Kim, 57, told us he’s not alarmed.
“The two countries seem to be getting closer since North Korea began giving arms to Russia. But North Korea is treading its line closely, keeping China in mind as well. So, I don't think this meeting...is going to have a big impact on South Korea's security right away. I don't feel threatened by the news."
Who is in Putin's Pyongyang delegation?
Senior officials from the Russian government are accompanying Putin in Pyongyang, according to state news agency Tass. They include:
Here's what's on the agenda for today
According to the BBC weather forecast it will be sunny in Pyongyang in the coming hours with zero chance of rain - perfect conditions for a state reception.
The official events are expected to start in just under an hour.
That's just one of the events on the docket for today. Putin and Kim will also take part in an official welcoming ceremony held for the Russian leader in Kim Il Sung Square.
That will be followed by diplomatic talks, as well as a visit to an Orthodox church among other things.
We're also expecting the pair to sign a range of agreements, spanning everything from economics to security.
The big talking point though - experts say - will be how the incresingly isolated nations can deepen their military ties, as Putin looks to shore up his supply of weapons and munitions for his war in Ukraine.
Putin and Kim’s marriage of convenience
Joel Guinto
BBC News
While the alliance between Russia and North Korea is deepening, analysts tell the BBC that it’s a marriage of convenience built on short-term goals.
Putin needs ammunition while Kim needs military technology.
“There is no question that both countries have had strong ties over the years. Recent exchanges and interactions, however, could very well be viewed as opportunistic and transactional - owing to both countries’ geostrategic postures,” says Michael Madden, founder of North Korea Leadership Watch.
Since last year, North Korea has shipped 7,000 containers filled with munitions and other military equipment to Russia, South Korea’s defence minister Shin Won-sik has said.
In exchange, Pyongyang gets desperately needed food and economic assistance from Moscow, according to South Korean officials.
With this meeting, the two leaders are testing if the relationship can go further, Madden says. But that too could be limited by their individual interests, says Bruce Bennet, a senior defence analyst at RAND Corp.
A 360-degree view of Putin in Pyongyang
No words. Just 360-degree drone and fisheye shots set to a brooding drumbeat.
This is how Russian state media have edited a video of Putin walking the red carpet at Pyongyang airport into Kim's embrace.
Watch a clip of it below:
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What would Kim want from Putin?
Kim wants Putin’s help building missiles and sending spy satellites into orbit. He may get some of what he needs, but not necessarily all that he wants, analysts tell the BBC.
“Putin knows North Korea is not really an ally,” and he will be careful to avoid giving it military capabilities that could be used against Russia, says Bruce Bennet, a senior defence analyst at RAND Corp in the US.
Ankit Panda, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, agrees.
“We should not assume that Pyongyang will get all that it seeks from Russia,” he told the BBC.
However, he says North Korea has “spent the last few decades making significant advances in their own indigeneous capabilities and expertise”, though Russian technology can still be a “useful catalyst”.
What is Kim likely to get then?
Bennet says Russia “seems more inclined to provide North Korea weapon technology that will distress the US, including short and longer range ballistic missiles and likely some degree of nuclear weapon technology”.
'Inmost thoughts, unbreakable ties': How state media are framing this visit
As we prepare for today’s Kim-Putin meeting, here’s how both countries are framing it.
North Korea’s state news agency KCNA said that after Putin touched down in Pyongyang, the two leaders “exchanged their pent-up inmost thoughts” and discussed deepening ties.
It described the partnership between the increasingly isolated pair as an “engine for accelerating the building of a new multi-polar world" - mirroring language used by Putin.
In a letter published by North Korea’s state run newspaper, the Russian leader had promised to work with Kim to build trade and security systems “that are not controlled by the west”.
He also pledged to support Pyongyang against “US pressure, blackmail and military threats”.
The idea that Russia can form an alliance to counterweight the West is popular messaging from Putin.
He’s also consistently thanked Kim for supporting his war in Ukraine - a topic expected to dominate the talks.
For his part, Kim has said that ties with Russia have already "developed into an unbreakable relationship of comrades-in-arms".
Putin last met Kim nine months ago
Putin and Kim last met at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia last September.
The Russian leader had sent ahead a welcome party to greet Kim as his train rolled onto the space base's tracks. A red-carpeted, balustrade staircase was also erected mid-air, waiting for the train to pull in and for the North Korean leader to step out.
And as they entered the gleaming space centre, they strolled side by side and swapped guns as gifts.
Russia’s president needed ammunition for his war in Ukraine while the North Korean leader needed technology to launch his spy satellites into space.
But for all that pomp, little was revealed of the outcome of that meeting.
Since then, North Korea which had repeatedly tried - and failed - to successfully launch satellites, managed to succesfully launch one in November last year.
It is unclear if that was done with the help of Russia, although Putin had suggested that Moscow could help Pyongyang build satellites.
Read more about the space centre meeting here.
Pyongyang is bedecked in roses - and Putin posters
Vladimir Putin was welcomed to the North Korean capital with a red carpet in the early hours of this morning local time.
A official guard stood at attention as Putin was greeted with a hug and a bouquet of red roses, before walking down the red carpet - also lined with hundreds of roses - to the waiting motorcade (we'll have more on the meaning of all those roses later).
But when Putin emerges for today's packed itinerary he'll find the rest of the city has been dressed up for his visit too, decorated with Russian flags and massive portraits.
Images and footage shared by the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti show a banner welcoming Putin along the freeway, also lined with North Korean propaganda posters.
"The friendship between North Korea and Russia is eternal," reads one banner outside Pyongyang’s Sunan International Airport.
"We warmly welcome comrade Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin," says another.
What's the latest?
It's almost 09:00 in Pyongyang - here's what's been happening:
Photos show Kim greeting Putin on tarmac
The Russian president arrived just before 03:00 local time (18:00 GMT), and despite the late arrival, Kim Jong Un was on the tarmac to greet him with a hug on the red carpet.
As we've explained here, coverage of this meeting is tightly controlled. Most of these pictures have been handed out by officials - either from Russia or North Korea - for media to use.
Welcome back
Our live coverage is continuing of Vladimir Putin's first visit to North Korea in 24 years.
Putin and Kim Jung Un will meet for the majority of Wednesday for a handful of meetings and events, including a tea party.
The Russian leader is believed to be visiting North Korea with the intention of procuring ammunition from the country for his invasion of Ukraine.
Stay with us for the latest updates.
Thanks for joining us
We’re pausing our live coverage now that Vladimir Putin has finally landed in North Korea for his first visit to the country in 24 years.
The Russian president’s arrival has been keenly anticipated throughout Tuesday - but in the end his flight didn’t touch down until the early morning hours locally.
A full day of meetings and events will begin at noon on Wednesday when the red carpet will be rolled out for his official welcoming. He and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will then hold talks.
The two countries are under international sanctions and their burgeoning relationship in defiance of the West is being closely watched by the US and its allies.
Putin’s visit is widely thought to be aimed at procuring ammunition from North Korea for his invasion of Ukraine. He has praised North Korea for “firmly supporting” the war, and Kim said last week that ties with Russia had "developed into an unbreakable relationship of comrades-in-arms".
On Wednesday, we'll resume our live coverage of their packed schedule, which reportedly includes nine hours together - and a tea party.
In the meantime, you can read all about Putin's visit to North Korea here.
Putin and Kim's friendship exposes problems for the US
Will Vernon
BBC News, Washington
The growing cooperation between Russia and North Korea poses a rather tricky problem for Washington.
US officials have warned repeatedly of Pyongyang’s ratcheting up of military supplies to Moscow. In recent months, this has included not just bullets and shells, but ballistic missiles, too.
Not only does this kill Ukrainians on the battlefield, but it also gives rise to a question: what is Russia giving North Korea in return? Are Russian officials supplying expertise or materials that could aid North Korean missile development or – most worryingly of all – a nuclear programme?
"There could be some reciprocity here that could affect security on the Korean Peninsula,” said White House National Security communications advisor John Kirby recently, adding: "We’re certainly going to be watching that very, very closely.”
Just a few years ago, efforts to prevent Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons were one of the last remaining areas in which Russia and the US were cooperating. But Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory has created a new geopolitical reality in which Russia is isolated internationally.
That means Vladimir Putin is prepared to work with any country to build an alliance against the West - the two leaders called it a “sacred struggle” when they met in Russia last year - especially if that country is only too happy to hand over munitions for the war effort.
The supply of North Korean arms hasn’t been confirmed by Moscow or Pyongyang, and we shouldn’t expect any public discussion of it during this visit. Such transfers violate UN arms embargoes, which prohibit the export and import of North Korean weapons.
But UN monitors have reportedly confirmed that North Korean Hwasong-11 missiles were used to bomb the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv earlier this year.
WATCH: Hugs and smiles as Kim greets Putin on the tarmac
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Deepening cooperation is of great concern, White House says
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was just asked a short while ago about Vladimir Putin's visit to North Korea during her daily briefing.
"Deepening cooperation between Russia and the DPRK is a trend that should be of great concern to anyone interested in maintaining peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, upholding the global non-proliferation regime, abiding by the UN Security Council resolutions and supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom," Jean-Pierre said.
The Biden administration has been warning "for some time" that Kim Jong Un is sending weapons to aid Russia in its war in Ukraine, Jean-Pierre added.
The White House now appears concerned that this visit might somehow aid Putin's effort to legitimise the conflict.
"We don't believe any country should give Mr Putin a platform to promote the war of aggression that we're currently seeing in Ukraine."
A nine-hour visit that includes a tea party
Vladimir Putin arrived in Pyongyang late at night, but he has a busy schedule ahead.
He will spend at least nine hours with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to Russian state-owned news agency Tass. The events will kick off with an official welcoming ceremony at noon local time.
After a photo op, Putin and Kim will hold talks for about 90 minutes. They will continue their talks "during a stroll about the North Korean leader’s residence and a tea party", Tass reports.
The visit will conclude with the signing of several joint documents and a press conference.
"A new page in Moscow’s relations with Pyongyang was turned" in September when Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un last met, the Russian state-owned news agency Tass reports.
It was at this meeting in Russia that Kim invited the Russian leader to visit Pyongyang at his convience, the news agency said.