Kim Jong Un and Putin May Meet. What Do North Korea and Russia Need From Each Other?

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may travel to Russia for a summit with President Vladimir Putin, a U.S. official said, in a trip that would underscore deepening cooperation as the two isolated leaders are locked in separate confrontations with the U.S.

U.S. officials also said that Russia is seeking to buy ammunition from North Korea to refill reserves drained by its war in Ukraine. In return, experts said, North Korea will likely want food and energy shipments and transfers of sophisticated weapons technologies.

A meeting with Putin would be Kim's first summit with a foreign leader since North Korea closed its borders in January 2020. They met for the first time in April 2019, two months after Kim's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with then-U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to Pyongyang in July and asked Kim to send more ammunition to Russia, according to U.S. officials. Shoigu said Moscow and Pyongyang were considering holding military exercises for the first time.