Putin and Kim Jong Un will meet in Russia in a defiant message to the West

north korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for an official state visit, the Kremlin announced Monday.

North Korean state media confirmed the visit in a report Monday, and Kim is expected to meet Putin in the coming days, according to an ABC News report.

“Our dear comrade Kim Jong Un will visit Russia at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the visit, he will meet with Putin and hold a summit,” the Korean Central News Agency said, according to the report.

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A bulletproof train is believed to have carried the north korean leader left Pyongyang on Sunday night, the report said, citing a South Korean official. The train is expected to take two days to reach the Russian city of Vladivostok on the border with North Korea, a 683-mile journey that will be made at just 37 miles per hour. From there, the train is expected to be fitted with new wheels that will allow it to run on Russian tracks. Putin also began a two-day trip to Vladivostok on Monday for an economic forum, according to Russian news agency TASS.

Rebekah Koffler, a strategic military intelligence analyst, former senior official at the Defense Intelligence Agency and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” told Fox News Digital the closer ties. between Russia and North Korea will have “enormous strategic implications for US security.”

“Two of our main adversaries are joining forces, expanding military-industrial cooperation,” Koffler said. “Russia possesses some of the world’s most extensive knowledge of nuclear weapons and space technology. The fact that it will share this knowledge with North Korea is not good for the United States. The fact that these two adversaries also have a close relationship with China it makes things even worse.”

Koffler believes that cooperation between North Korea and Russia will be mutually beneficial for both countries, noting that Russia can provide food to North Korea amid a deepening food crisis in the country and access to COVID-19 vaccine. In the meantime, North Korea will be able to supply Russia with ammunition to maintain the country’s ammunition invasion of Ukraine. Russia may also help North Korea militarily, Koffler said.

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“Russia, as one of the world leaders in nuclear, satellite, space and missile technologies, can help North Korea strengthen its military-industrial technology base,” Koffler noted. “It is no coincidence that North Korea recently unveiled its new tactical nuclear attack submarine. North Korea increasing its arsenal of weapons of mass destruction is obviously not in the interest of the United States.”

Talks between Kim and Putin on a plan for North Korea to send arms supplies to Russia have “actively advanced”, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said last month, arguing that it was a sign of Putin’s despair.

“We have new information, which we can share today, that arms negotiations between Russia and the DPRK are actively moving forward,” Kirby said. “After these negotiations, high-level discussions may continue in the coming months. Now, among these possible agreements, Russia would receive significant quantities and multiple types of ammunition from the DPRK, which the Russian military plans to use in Ukraine “.

NSC spokeswoman Adrienne Watson noted that while they have yet to confirm specific details of the reported trip, North Korea has expressed in the past that it was unwilling to sell arms to Russia.

“As we have publicly warned, arms discussions between Russia and the DPRK are expected to continue during Kim Jong-Un’s trip to Russia. We urge the DPRK to honor the public commitments Pyongyang has made not to provide or sell weapons in Russia,” Watson told Fox News Digital.

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Meanwhile, Koffler believes the meeting of the two sides sends a clear message of defiance to the West.

“Another less tangible benefit for the two dictators is that the Putin-Kim meeting is troubling Washington,” Koffler said. “Neither would miss an opportunity to upset the US”