The move, which came after the two leaders signed an agreement including mutual defence pledges, is one of Russia’s most significant in the Asia-Pacific region in recent years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un went on a drive on Wednesday in a Russian-made Aurus limousine, taking turns at the wheel.
The carefully orchestrated public relations stunt, coming as Putin visits Pyongyang for the first time in 24 years, was an opportunity for the two men to demonstrate their close cooperation and ease with each other.
The move came after the two leaders signed an agreement including a mutual defence pledge, one of Russia’s most significant moves in the Asia-Pacific region in recent years, which Kim said amounted to an “alliance”.
Footage released by Russian state television shows Putin at the wheel of an Aurus, the presidential car used in Russia, with Kim Jong Un smiling in the passenger seat as they drive through the park, with Kim Jong Un swapping seats behind him.
One of Putin’s aides said on Wednesday that the Russian leader had given Auras to Kim Jong Un as a gift.
This is his second Russian-made limousine.
North Korean state media reported in March that Putin had presented the Aurus to Kim Jong Un in February and that Kim had ridden it for the first time.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said it had determined that the Auras gift violated U.N. sanctions against North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Kim Jong Un is believed to have a large collection of luxury cars, including Maybachs, Mercedes-Benzes and Rolls-Royces, which have been smuggled into the country in violation of sanctions.
