Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took turns traveling in Russian-made Aurus luxury limousines on Wednesday, with the Kremlin saying Putin had gifted Kim one of the luxury cars.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (left) sits in the passenger seat of a car driven by Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) in the gardens of the Nishikigoiyama State Guesthouse in Pyongyang. (AFP)
In a carefully choreographed public relations occasion amid tight security, the two leaders had a chance to demonstrate how close working ties between the two countries have become during Putin’s high-profile visit to Pyongyang, his first in nearly a quarter of a century.
The visit came after the two leaders signed an agreement including a mutual defence pledge, one of Russia’s most significant moves in Asia for many years and which Kim Jong Un described as the equivalent of an “alliance”.
Footage released by Russian state television showed Putin at the wheel of a black armored Aurus vehicle, the official presidential car in Russia, with Kim Jong Un in the passenger seat.
The car then drives down a road that winds through a carefully manicured park area, comes to a halt, and a South Korean man in a suit and white gloves is seen opening the door for Kim Jong Un, before running over to open it for Putin.
Putin and Kim Jong Un are then shown walking side by side and having a conversation along a forest path, with two men who appear to be interpreters walking behind them.
The footage then shows Kim Jong Un, who is said to be an avid car enthusiast, driving Putin home in his car.
One of Putin’s aides said on Wednesday that the Russian leader had given Kim Jong Un a Russian-made Aurus limousine as a gift.
The two countries announced at the time that Putin had gifted Kim Jong Un his first Auras limousine in February of this year, meaning that Kim now owns at least two Auras.
The Aurus Senate, a retro-style car modeled after a Soviet-era ZIL limousine, is the official vehicle of the Russian president, and Putin drove it to his most recent inauguration ceremony at the Kremlin in May.
Putin showed Kim Jong Un one of these cars during his visit to eastern Russia last September, and Kim sat next to Putin inside and appeared to enjoy it.
Kim Jong Un owns a large collection of luxury foreign cars, which are likely smuggled in, as UN Security Council resolutions ban the export of luxury goods to North Korea.
He has been seen driving a Maybach limousine, several Mercedes, a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Lexus sports utility vehicle.
Aurus Motors began producing cars in 2021 in Russia’s Tatarstan region, about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Moscow.
A senior Russian official said last month that Russia will start producing the Aurus this year at a former Toyota factory in St. Petersburg.
Russia is looking for ways to utilize idle car factories that have been driven off by some global automakers withdrawing from the Russian market following Putin’s decision in February 2022 to send tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine.
Since then, Western sanctions imposed on Russia have caused new car prices to soar, allowing Chinese makers to gain market share while some Russian mass-market automakers struggle.
According to Russian analytical agency Autostat, 40 Aurus-branded cars have been sold in Russia so far this year.
