North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may soon meet with President Vladimir Putin and discuss potential arms deals, a U.S. national security official has said, signaling deeper ties between the two countries as they face off with Washington.

Moscow

The Russian economy has been impacted by a raft of global sanctions as world leaders try to pressure Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

Russian Sanctions

Kim Jong-Un preparing for arms talks with Putin

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un seems set to meet with President Vladimir Putin on Russian soil. A U.S. national security official says they're expected to discuss potential arms deals. But what can we expect from the talks? The trip would be Kim's first visit abroad in over four years. He's expected to visit Russia's far eastern port city of Vladivostok by armoured train. It's likely to take almost a full day to travel over 600 miles across the border, taking account of the North's sometimes archaic rail network. Relations with Russia haven't always been as warm as they were during the height of the Soviet Union. But the country is now reaping clear benefits from Moscow's need for friends. Since Kim first met Putin in 2019, Russia has opposed new sanctions on North Korea, blocking a U.S.-led push and publicly splitting the U.N. Security Council. North Korea expert at Seoul's Kukmin University, Andrei Lankov, thinks Kim wants to emphasise a sense of Russian backing. Kim Jong-un will try to get some kind of economic assistance, politically motivated economic assistance from Russia. Maybe he will get some promises, but I don't think he will get much of real stuff. Because for Russia it's a rather marginal concern, so probably North Koreans should not expect to get much aid and assistance. But you need to make money by sending their workers overseas, and maybe some limited military cooperation. But what is important is a show. The most striking sign of recent deepening ties came in July, when Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Pyongyang. He toured a weapons exhibit that included the North's banned ballistic missiles and saluted weapons as they rolled by during a parade. The war in Ukraine has likely strengthened recent ties between Russia and North Korea too. As Russia's isolation over the war has grown, analysts say it has seen increasing value in North Korea. Here's Patricia Lewis, the head of British think tank Chatham House's international security programme. What's I think very interesting from the perspective of Russia's war against Ukraine is that Russia clearly is needing to offer something to North Korea to get ammunition. It's not just straightforward just purchase. And I would say as well that what we have seen too is that they're not getting what they need from China, which I think is very interesting. North Korea has reciprocated Putin's most recent displays of support by backing Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine. This is not going to reflect well on North Korea and they will pay a price for this. The US accuses the North of providing arms to Russia, but it's unclear whether any deliveries have been made. Both countries deny those claims. The vast majority of North Korea's trade goes through China, but experts say Russia is a potentially important partner as well. Last year, Russia and North Korea restarted train travel for the first time since railway journeys were cut during the global health crisis. United Nations data also shows that Russia resumed oil exports to North Korea, the first such shipment reported since 2020. Moscow denies breaking UN sanctions, but Russian tankers have been accused of helping evade caps on exporting oil to North Korea. Russian officials have openly discussed working on political arrangements to employ thousands of North Korean labourers, despite UN resolutions that ban such practices. Russian officials and leaders in occupied regions of Ukraine have also hinted at having North Korean workers help rebuild war-torn areas.

Officials in the U.S. state of Texas say at least 13 people have died in overnight flash floods after torrential rains triggered an overflow of the Guadalupe River. Nearly 20 children attending a summer camp in the south-central area are missing.

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Jerusalem

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Indonesian rescuers on Thursday (July 3) temporarily halted a search for 30 people still missing after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near the island of Bali with the loss of six lives, the national search and rescue agency said.

Gilimanuk

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Tehran

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