Vladimir Putin RECAP: North Korea sends Russia millions of shells to pummel Ukraine

Ukraine has claimed responsibility for an overnight drone attack on a Russian oil facility which sparked a massive blaze in the latest long-range strike by Kyiv’s forces on a border region.

Ukraine has stepped up aerial assaults on Russian soil, targeting refineries and oil terminals in an effort to slow down the Kremlin’s war machine as Moscow’s army presses hard along the front line in eastern Ukraine.

The attack set fire to an oil reservoir in Russia’s Rostov region and more than 200 firefighters were at the scene, according to Rostov Governor, Vasily Golubev.

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said the blaze covered an area of 5,000 square meters (55,000 square feet) but there were no casualties.

A Ukrainian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to give details to the media, said the attack was a special operation by Ukraine’s Security Service, SBU. The official said drones targeted two Rostov oil depots which have 22 oil reservoirs. It hasn't been possible to independently confirm the claim.

The BBC has suggested where where Putin may be staying during his trip to North Korea.

It says there are reports the Russian leader will be staying at the Kumsusan guesthouse in Pyongyang, which the BBC says also accommodated Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a 2019 state visit to North Korea in 2019.

According to the broadcaster, the mansion is near the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where Kim Jong-un’s father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung lie in state.

It cites NK News as reporting that the guesthouse was built over a few months and completed just in time for Xi’s visit.

The guest house's plush interior includes red couches, wood panel;ed walls and a mirrored ceiling with chandeliers, the BBC says North Korean state media images show.

Dr Colin Alexander, an expert in political communications at Nottingham Trent University, said while there is a regularity to the heads of government of neighbouring states meeting to discuss mutual issues, shared interests and areas of conflict, the meeting between Putin and Kim is far from regular.

He added: "Putin's rekindling of stronger ties with North Korea reflects the Russian Federation's squeezed diplomatic space in recent years.

"North Korea, on the other hand, has become adept at dealing with such marginalisation and may offer words of advice."

The expert said for international observers, Russia's decision to improve relations with North Korea will be perceived as a sign of desperation and symbolic of a once imperial power in serious decline.

He added: "Therefore, while some of the talks will likely focus on migration (North Korea has a significant migrant population in Vladivostok) most of the discussions will focus on trade and armaments."

Before Putin's arrival in North Korea, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenksy issued an impassioned statement online amid a peace summit in Switzerland.

He tweeted: "Everyone who has defended their freedom, their rights, their independence and dignity also strengthens the freedom of those around them.

"Freedom always has the ability to grow stronger, spreading from one person to another, and the only way freedom can advance is through the courage of people.

"I thank everyone standing up for Ukraine, resisting Russian pressure, everyone who is working and helping, and who, in these days and throughout the whole time of this war, does not forget Ukraine and Ukrainians, our struggle and the importance of protecting human life."

After North Korea, the Kremlin said Putin will visit Vietnam on Wednesday and Thursday for talks expected to focus on trade.

The United States, which has spent years strengthening ties and accelerating trade with Vietnam, criticised the planned visit.

A US Embassy spokesperson in Vietnam said in a statement: "As Russia continues to seek international support to sustain its illegal and brutal war against Ukraine, we reiterate that no country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalize his atrocities."

Putin is seeking to rebuild ties with Pyongyang as part of efforts to restore his country’s clout and its Soviet-era alliances.

Moscow’s ties with North Korea weakened after the 1991 Soviet collapse.

Kim Jong Un first met with Putin in 2019 in Russia’s eastern port of Vladivostok.

Along with China, Russia has provided political cover for Kim’s continuing efforts to advance his nuclear arsenal, repeatedly blocking US-led efforts to impose fresh UN sanctions on the North over its weapons tests.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsulas are at their highest point in years, with the pace of both Kim’s weapons tests and combined military exercises between the United States, South Korea and Japan intensifying in a cycle of tit-for-tat.

The Koreas have engaged in a Cold War-style psychological warfare which has seen North Korea drop tonnes of rubbish on the South with balloons and the South broadcasting anti-Korean propaganda with its loudspeakers.

South Korea’s military said soldiers fired warning shots to repel North Korean soldiers who temporarily crossed the rivals’ land border on Tuesday for the second time this month.

The South’s military said North Korean has been increasing building activity in frontline border areas, such as installing suspected anti-tank barriers, reinforcing roads and planting land mines.

Lim Soosuk, spokesperson of South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, said Seoul has been stressing to Moscow any cooperation between Russia and North Korea must not proceed in a direction which violates UN Security Council resolutions or undermines peace and stability in the region.

Putin and Kim last met in September in Russia's Far East.

Earlier this year, Putin sent Kim a high-end Aurus Senat limousine which he had shown to the North Korean leader when they met for a summit.

Observers said the shipment violated a UN resolution banning the supply of luxury items to North Korea.

John Kirby, spokesperson of the US National Security Council, said the deepening relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang is concerning.

He said this is not only because of the impacts it will have on the Ukrainian people but because there could be some reciprocity that could affect security on the Korean peninsula.

Mr Kirby said the US knows North Korean ballistic missiles are still being used to hit Ukrainian targets.

On concerns around Korean security, he added: "We haven’t seen the parameters of all of that right now, certainly haven’t seen it come to fruition. But we’re certainly going to be watching that very, very closely."

North Korea is under heavy UN Security Council economic sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile programs, while Russia is grappling with sanctions imposed by the UK, US and Western allies over its aggression in Ukraine.

Putin said the countries will also expand cooperation in tourism, culture and education.

Military, economic and other exchanges between North Korea and Russia have sharply increased since Kim met Putin in Russia's Far East in September, their first face to face meeting since 2019.

Washington and Seoul have accused Pyongyang of providing Russia with artillery, missiles and other military equipment to help prolong its war in Ukraine, possibly in return for key military technologies and aid.

Both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied accusations about North Korean weapons transfers, which would violate multiple UN Security Council sanctions Russia previously endorsed.

Good morning and welcome to our live blog where we will be bringing you the latest news of Vladimir Putin's visit to North Korea.