Multiple South Korean media outlets have reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is en route to Russia, although no official confirmation has been provided by either country.

The reports follow warnings from US officials last week that Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to hold a meeting as arms negotiations progress between their respective nations. However, there is no specified date or location for the potential meeting.

If the visit occurs, it would mark Kim's first foreign trip since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. North Korea had sealed its borders for much of the past three years due to the pandemic but has recently begun easing travel restrictions.

This would also be Kim's 10th foreign trip since assuming power in 2011, with all previous trips occurring in 2018 and 2019. During this period, Kim engaged in negotiations regarding North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs through meetings with then-US President Donald Trump in Singapore, Hanoi, and the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea. Additionally, Kim met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during four trips to China and once with Putin in Vladivostok in April 2019. One trip involved a visit to the DMZ in 2018 to meet with then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Vladivostok, located 130 km (80 miles) from the North Korean border, is a possible meeting location.

Kim reportedly prefers upscale armored train travel, a tradition carried on from his father. However, rail travel accounts for less than half of his foreign trips, with three by plane and two, both to the DMZ, by car.

In July, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Pyongyang in an attempt to negotiate the sale of artillery ammunition.

Last Tuesday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan cautioned North Korea that it would "pay a price" if it struck an arms deal with Russia, though he did not elaborate on the potential consequences.

North Korea already faces United Nations and US sanctions related to its weapons of mass destruction program. A potential meeting between Putin and Kim could raise concerns about North Korea gaining access to weapons that have been prohibited by sanctions for two decades, particularly for its nuclear-capable ballistic missile program.

The potential meeting also comes amid more than a year and a half of conflict in Ukraine, which has strained the Russian military, leaving it in need of supplies and resources. Photo by The White House from Washington, DC, Wikimedia commons.