‘No agreements’ signed during Kim visit: Kremlin

The Kremlin yesterday said no agreements have been signed during North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's ongoing visit to Russia. "No agreements were signed and there was no plan to sign any," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, amid concern in Washington that the two countries could be preparing an arms deal. Kim began his visit to Russia on Tuesday. At a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, the two leaders exchanged gifts of rifles -- a choice seen as symbolic given Western concern. Putin talked up the prospect of greater cooperation with North Korea and said there were "possibilities" for military ties despite international sanctions on Pyongyang. The Kremlin on Thursday said Putin had accepted an invitation from Kim to visit North Korea, without giving a date for the trip. Yesterday, Kim visited military and civil aviation plants in far eastern Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Moscow said in a statement. Kim saw the production of Russia's Sukhoi Su-35 and Su-57 fighter aircraft and watched a Su-35 demonstration flight. "We see the potential for cooperation both in the field of aircraft manufacturing and in other industries," said Russian Deputy PM Denis Manturov after accompanying Kim around the factories. "This is especially important for achieving the tasks facing our countries to achieve technological sovereignty," the trade and industry minister said.