Putin takes North Korea’s Kim for a drive around Pyongyang in Russian-made limousine
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Russian President Vladimir Putin takes the wheel of an armoured Aurus limousine with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un in the passenger seat.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 19 took North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a drive in a luxury Russian-built Aurus limousine during a pomp-filled visit to Pyongyang after presenting one of the luxury cars to Mr Kim as a gift.
The jaunt took place after the two leaders signed an agreement deepening their military cooperation to include a mutual defence pledge to help each other if attacked, with Mr Kim calling the new ties an “alliance”.
Video released by Russian state TV showed Mr Putin jumping behind the wheel of the black armoured limousine, which is his official presidential car back in Russia, with Mr Kim getting in the passenger seat.
The car is then shown driving on a road that weaves its way through what looks like a park before coming to a halt. A Korean man in a suit wearing white gloves is seen opening the door for Mr Kim before rushing round to hold Mr Putin’s door.
Mr Putin and Mr Kim are then shown walking side by side and chatting on a path in a wooded area with one man, presumably a bodyguard, walking behind them.
Apart from the car, Mr Putin also presented Mr Kim with a tea set and an admiral’s dirk.
Mr Putin, on a visit to Pyongyang, in turn received various works of art depicting himself, including busts, presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov said.
Cheering crowds and lavish ceremonies greeted Mr Putin in the North Korean capital on June 19, where Mr Kim expressed “full support” for Russia’s war in Ukraine and pledged stronger strategic ties with Moscow.
The Aurus Senat, retro-styled after the Soviet-era ZIL limousine, is the official Russian presidential car. Mr Putin rode in one to his most recent Kremlin inauguration ceremony in May.
When Mr Kim visited eastern Russia in September 2023, Mr Putin showed him one of the black armoured vehicles. Mr Kim sat beside Mr Putin in the car and appeared to enjoy it.
Mr Putin already gave Mr Kim an Aurus limousine in February 2024, both countries said at the time, meaning he now has at least two of the vehicles.
Mr Kim is believed to be an avid automobile enthusiast. He has a large collection of luxury foreign vehicles that have probably been smuggled in, as United Nations Security Council resolutions ban the export of luxury goods to North Korea.
He has been spotted in a Maybach limousine, several Mercedes, a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Lexus sport utility vehicle.
A senior Russian official said in May that Russia would start making Aurus luxury cars at a former Toyota factory in St Petersburg in 2024.
According to Russian analytical agency Autostat, 40 Aurus-branded cars have been sold in Russia so far in 2024. REUTERS
