Kim-Putin summit at Russian space center: What does it mean?

The spaceport sprawls across 551.5 square kilometres 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.

All eyes are now on the symbolism behind the meeting of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin being held at such a venue that reflects Russia's ambitions to explore space on its own.

North Korea, meanwhile, is desperately looking for a breakthrough in weapons development, as the seclusive Kim regime is halfway through its five-year plan to achieve military goals for defence 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.

North Korea earlier this year in May and August claimed it had attempted to send a space launch vehicle twice, but neither achieved orbit, triggering condemnations and additional sanctions by South Korea, Japan and the United States. The three countries have viewed North Korea's failed launch as a violation of United Nations sanctions.

Nonetheless, immediately after the second failed attempt, North Korea's space authorities expressed the intention to fire a third space projectile in October.

Despite the setting, experts said the summit is unlikely to induce Russia's tangible technological support to help North Korea put its own spy satellite into orbit.

"The Soviet Union (and Russia since) has never transferred any space technology to its allies," said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University.

But Park added that North Korea's large stockpile of ammunition compatible with Russian weapons, such as 152-millimeter artillery shells, could still help North Korea get what it wants to overcome crises such as a food shortage.

"From North Korea's perspective, exchanging (its artillery ammunition) for food, energy resources and fertilizers could be practically important options," he said.

Lim of Kyungnam University said that now is unlikely the time for North Korea to seek shortsighted solutions to handle its satellite problems.

Kim's visit to the Vostochny Cosmodrome could "lay a cornerstone for institutionalized mid- to long-term cooperation between North Korea and Russia over space development," Lim said.

"Given the massive scale of the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Kim's visit to the spaceport would still mean a lot to him."

Son Ji-hyoung

The Korea Herald

Asia News Network