Rockets, drones and a fur hat: Kim Jong-un took many interesting gifts from Russia

On September 18, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will fly home from Russia with gifts including a rifle, an astronaut's glove and military drones, which itself is a violation of UN sanctions, reports Reuters.

Photo: IStock

He will bring all the items to the “friendship” museum, where gifts received by three generations of North Korean leaders are kept.

Gifts from Russia

After the summit with Russian President Putin, Kim received a Russian-made rifle of the “highest quality,” according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Kim reciprocated - he gave Putin a rifle, “which was made by North Korean craftsmen.”

Putin also gave Kim a glove from a space suit worn in space, Russian news agency TASS reported.

Governor of the Primorsky Territory Oleg Kozhemyako presented Kim with a set of modern light body armor designed for assault operations and protecting the chest, shoulders, throat and groin, Russian media reported.

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Kim was also presented with five single-action attack drones and a Geranium-25 reconnaissance drone, which is widely used in the war in Ukraine, TASS reports. This violates at least two UN Security Council resolutions approved by Moscow.

Kim received a fur hat from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Vladivostok, where he inspected Russian nuclear bombers, fighter jets equipped with hypersonic missiles and a warship.

As the Russian news agency RIA reported, there was a problem with choosing the right hat size. The Russian Ambassador to Pyongyang, Alexander Matsegora, suggested a size slightly smaller than his own “very large head” - the size turned out to be just right.

“It is also important that this is a gift from the heart. And Comrade Kim Jong-un liked it,” Matsegora said.

Kim began his visit with a stop in the Russian border town of Khasan, where he was presented with a photograph of Yuri Gagarin, the cosmonaut who was the first man to orbit the Earth.

“Can be compared to the Louvre”

North Korea has gone to great lengths to display gifts that Kim, as well as his father Kim Jong Il and his grandfather and founder Kim Il Sung, received from foreign dignitaries. The country's leaders dedicated a special museum to them.

Located in the hills of Mount Myohyangsan, 160 km from Pyongyang, the International Friendship Exhibition features two imposing concrete structures built in traditional architectural style with blue tile roofs.

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The museum, opened in 1978, includes more than 100 exhibition halls, displaying more than 115 artifacts from more than 000 countries.

The scale and importance of the collection make it comparable to the Louvre in Paris, North Korean state media said.

Who else sent gifts?

The collection includes crystal pieces sent by US President Jimmy Carter, a set of tea cups from French President Francois Mitterrand, a basketball signed by Michael Jordan given by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during her visit in 2000, and a rifle given by the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro, wide-screen TV from South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who brought Pyongyang into peace politics.

The Dynasty sedan, which was Hyundai Motor's flagship, was gifted to Kim Jong Il by North Korean-born Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju Jung. He led investment in North Korea after the 2000 inter-Korean summit.

"The Most Dangerous Woman in the World"

Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, accompanied her brother to Russia for a summit with Putin, reports FoxNews.

North Korean expert Sung-Yun Lee, a professor at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, explained why Kim Yo Jong is “the most dangerous woman in the world.”

“I submit that today Kim Yo Jong is truly the most dangerous woman in the world in all of Korean history, and perhaps in all of world history,” Sung-Yun Lee said.

“She is relatively young - she turns 36 at the end of September. This woman certainly brings a softer image to the violent, chauvinistic façade of her male-dominated nation, he said. “It should be taken very seriously.”

Lee is the author of "Sister," which chronicles Yeo Jong's rise to power as the "de facto deputy" supreme leader of the hermit country.

Kim Yo Jong made her first public appearance in 2011 with her father Kim Jong Il, but remained largely a minor figure until she appeared at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Then a few months later, she accompanied her brother to a historic summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

She also accompanied her brother to Russia for his summit with Vladimir Putin, visiting the Vostochny Cosmodrome before the two leaders met.

Analysts have identified Kim Yo Jong as a possible successor to her brother. Lee believes she can serve as regent for her brother's intended children until they are old enough to take power - even if it creates some tension.

Threats with nuclear weapons

Kim Yo Jong and her brother appear to have increasingly collaborated over the years, starting with the murder of their uncle in 2013. The uncle "applauded halfheartedly" in the presence of the supreme leader, just one of several crimes he was accused of.

Following her public debut abroad in South Korea, Kim Yo Jong made bold statements on behalf of her brother and his government - at least 40 written statements - and ordered the destruction of a joint liaison office located inside North Korea.

Lee explained that Kim Yo Jong's position of power is particularly troubling. Together with her brother, she has control over the country's nuclear weapons arsenal. She referred to this in several statements last year, threatening South Korea if it "launched one nuclear weapon, one bullet into North Korean territory."

“We have never seen anything like this, neither in North Korea, nor in Korean history, nor in world history, for a female despot - a female co-leader of a criminal regime - to make nuclear threats and say that she has the authority to launch a nuclear strike on a peaceful, democratic neighboring state,” Lee said.

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Lee suggested North Korea could weaponize Kim Yo Jong by sending her to meetings with presidents or to the United Nations.

“When she says, 'Okay, let's talk about denuclearization or normalization of diplomatic relations,' many of us will be inclined to believe her just because she is a woman,” he said. “So she's ambitious, she's smart, she's ruthless, and so we have to take her very seriously and not patronize her.”

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