A video clip circulated on social media showing Russian President Vladimir Putin driving North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a Russian-made Urus limousine. In an attempt to show the growing closeness between the two countries and their leaders.
In the video, which was first published by Russian state television, the Kremlin leader is seen behind the wheel of a black armored Urus, Russia’s official presidential car, with Kim sitting in the passenger seat. As the car drove through a manicured garden area, the two leaders talked and laughed throughout their journey.
The leaders took turns leading each other while exchanging jovial conversation during the flight.
After the short journey, the two leaders are shown walking side by side and talking on a road in a wooded area. According to reports, Putin gifted Kim a Russian-made limousine in February this year, and gifted him the same car again. Kim, who is believed to be a car enthusiast, now owns at least two cars
The Aurus Senat, modeled after a Soviet-era ZIL limousine, is Russia’s official presidential car. When Kim visited Russia in September last year, Putin showed him one of the vehicles.
Kim owns a large collection of luxury foreign cars that may have been smuggled, as United Nations Security Council resolutions prohibit the export of luxury goods to North Korea. He has been spotted in a Maybach limousine, several Mercedes cars, a Rolls Royce Phantom, and a Lexus SUV.
In return, the North Korean leader gave the Russian president a pair of Pongsan dogs, a local breed. Kim and Putin were seen looking at the dogs, which were tied to a fence covered in flowers, during a clip broadcast by state-controlled Korea Central Television on Thursday. The two bonded over the animals as Kim fed carrots to the horse while Putin patted its head.
The leaders of North Korea and Russia also signed an agreement that deepens their military cooperation to include a mutual defense pledge to help each other in the event of attack, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un describing the new relationship as an “alliance.”
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