Russia unveils memorial plaques to Kim Jong-un and father Kim Jong-il in commemoration of North Korean leaders’ visits to country

In 2019, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made his first trip to Russia, meeting President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok. Now, two years on, authorities have installed plaques commemorating him and his father, Kim Jong-il.

Located in the Far East of Russia, Vladivostok is just a comparatively short trip from North Korea. On April 24, Kim traveled to the Russian city by armored train, arriving at the famous railway station – known for being the terminus of the Trans-Siberian Express. Now, the walls of the building are adorned with two plaques, commemorating his trip and the previous visit of his father.

The tablets were unveiled by politicians from the city and regional government, as well as representatives from the North Korean Consulate General in Vladivostok.

Kim Jong-un’s father, Kim Jong-il, visited Vladivostok in August 2002, where he met with Putin early in his first stint as president. Russian records show that the elder Kim was actually born in 1941 in the Soviet Union and was known as Yuri Irsenovich Kim. However, North Korea says he was born on Paektu Mountain, which is considered the country’s spiritual home. The Kim family had fled to the USSR during the Second World War, with Japanese troops occupying the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria.

In June 2019, a plaque commemorating Kim Jong-un’s visit to Vladivostok and his meeting with Putin was unveiled at the Lesnaya Zaimka country complex close to the city, where the North Korean leader dined.

During his trip to Russia, Kim allegedly requested Putin’s help to resolve the nuclear stalemate with the US.

While Pyongyang and Moscow have good relations, North Korea is far down the list of nations seen as friendly by Russians. In 2020, a poll by Levada revealed that just 4% of those surveyed regard the Asian country as one of the Kremlin’s closest allies.

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