SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used a Russian luxury limousine gifted by President Vladimir Putin, Kim’s sister said Saturday, praising the car’s “special function” and the two countries’ deepening bilateral ties. Observers said the shipment violated a United Nations resolution aimed at pressuring the North to give up its nuclear weapons program by banning the supply of luxury items to North Korea. Drawing the biggest outside concerns was North Korea's purported shipments of conventional weapons to support Russia’s war with Ukraine to receive high-tech Russian weapons technologies and other support. North Korea’s state media separately reported Saturday that Kim Jong Un guided his troops conducting parachuting training the previous day. It’s unclear if Friday’s training was the same event in which Kim rode in the Russian limousine.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 16, 2024 17:11 UTC