Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un met for the first time on Thursday — and the Russian president broke a habit of a lifetime by not showing up late to see his North Korean counterpart.
The two leaders met on Russky Island, near the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, in a summit focused on North Korea’s nuclear program. It comes two months after Kim’s denuclearization talks with US President Donald Trump abruptly broke down.
Both leaders emerged from the meetings later on Thursday with warm words for one another, but no specifics on anything they might do as a result of the meeting.
One thing that stood out from the summit was how much Putin appeared to show his respect for Kim, who not long ago was an international pariah.
The Russian leader, who has a long track record of making world leaders wait for him, arrived at the venue 30 minutes before Kim.