They walked side by side through the gleaming space center – stopping to peer into the hole where the rocket exploded into space.
At a sumptuous banquet, they drank Russian wine and toasted their two pariah nations.
And before leaving, they exchanged weapons as a gift – rifle models of each other’s ammunition.
Images of Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin meeting in eastern Russia clearly underscore their strengthened wartime ties.
It’s not over yet, the North Korean leader spent several days visiting shipyards, aircraft factories and other military locations before he returned to his country.
There was huge anticipation ahead of the meeting – with global media abuzz as Kim walked for hours in an armored train across the border.
He kept the Western world guessing for nearly 40 hours before reaching the Vostochny Cosmodrome – a space base in the far eastern corner of Russia. Even so, it is still unclear what exactly the two will discuss at the meeting. The White House’s warning last week that North Korea could sell weapons to Russia could raise concerns.
Putin had sent a welcoming entourage in advance to greet Kim as his train rolled down the space base track. A red-carpeted balustrade was also erected in the air, waiting for the train to stop and the North Korean leader to exit.
Putin was waiting in front of the center when Kim pulled up in his limousine. There, before installing the cameras, the two leaders shook hands and the photos were immediately published by state media.
Both leaders know the power of showmanship, but North Korea’s Supreme Leader, as Kim is known, loves ceremony. He is third in a dynasty of supreme leaders “who have had generations of mythology built around them”, said Sarah Son, a North Korea expert at the University of Sheffield.
“There is no point in being seen as a leader of a country whose term of office is limited and mediocre by domestic audiences, who will see this trip and some of these meetings on television and in the newspapers.
“It is vital for Kim to hold face-to-face meetings with other countries’ leaders so that all eyes are on him, making North Korea appear as a more important global player than it actually is.
“Sanctions are of course still very tight and Russia’s need for weapons provides an opportunity to achieve two complementary goals: revenue for the North Korean state and proof that Kim is worthy of the attention of the leader of a major global power.”
About an hour before the two leaders met, Pyongyang also fired two ballistic missiles – the first of which was launched without its leaders in the country.
“This summit clearly links the behavior of pariah states in Europe and Asia,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
But despite the excitement and excitement, observers question whether the meeting resulted in any concrete agreements. Only a little has been revealed to the public.
“To date, it seems that no substantial developments have occurred in the public sphere,” said Fyodor Tertitskiy, a North Korean military researcher at Kookmin University in Seoul.
“We witnessed two major events – a grand spectacle designed specifically for foreign audiences and a closely guarded treaty, the significance of which remains uncertain.”
No details were disclosed regarding the arms deal that the West fears will escalate Russia’s struggle in Ukraine.
And there was no mention of specific benefits for North Korea – in the form of food aid, economic assistance or military and technological sharing, things Kim wants, analysts say.
Instead, the only known progress is Putin hinting that he could potentially help Kim’s space and satellite goals.
That’s where the choice of venue becomes real, analysts say. The two leaders traveled long distances to reach a spaceport on the other side of the country from Moscow.
But the meeting at the site provided significant insight for Putin, analysts said.
First, its offer of space aid can be said to be within acceptable limits compared to what Russia can provide to North Korea.
Pyongyang has failed twice this year to send spy satellites into space – its technology still lags Russia by decades.
And for Moscow, helping put satellites in space so North Korea can keep tabs on its enemies is very different from the Kremlin helping nuclear and missile programs banned by the P Security Council
