Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reportedly intends to visit North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, North Korean state media revealed Sunday.
“I am going to visit the [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] and meet [His Excellency] Kim Jong Un,” North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency wrote, quoting Assad. There were no details on when such a summit might take place.
When it comes to international diplomacy and statesmanship, it seems Kim is rapidly becoming the most eligible bachelor. For years, Kim was the mysterious despot who never left home, but in a period of only a few months, he has visited China twice for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and met South Korean President Moon Jae-in, once on South Korean soil. The North Korean leader has received an invitation from Moscow to visit Russia, and soon, Kim will meet President Donald Trump in Singapore. (RELATED: Trump: North Korea Summit Is BACK ON)
Now, it seems that Syria’s leadership wants a piece of the action.
Syria has long had ties to North Korea, and the two leaders frequently exchange pleasantries in state media reports. North Korea has supplied weapons, including ballistic missiles, to Syria for years. United Nations investigators revealed in February that North Korea had attempted to ship supplies necessary for the construction of a chemical weapons facility to Syria.
Assad also reportedly said that Kim will surely “achieve the final victory and realize the reunification of Korea without fail,” adding that Syria will “fully support all policies and measures of the DPRK leadership.” The Syrian president is reported to have made these comments in late May, while new North Korean Ambassador to Syria Mun Jong Nam was receiving his diplomatic credentials.
If Assad meets Kim in Pyongyang, it will mark the first time Kim has held a leadership summit in his nation’s capital.
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