BLAGOVESHCHENSK, September 13. /TASS/. Russia is ready to train a cosmonaut from North Korea and send him into space if Pyongyang is interested in this, with the issue being discussed during a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
"We talked about the fact that, if the North Korean side wishes, it is possible to train and launch a North Korean cosmonaut into space," Peskov told journalists.
Peskov stated earlier that Moscow intended to develop cooperation with Pyongyang in all spheres and, according to him, during today’s talks the Russian side proposed in particular "cooperation opportunities in the space sphere."
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a more than five-hour-long meeting at the Vostochny Spaceport on Wednesday, their first summit in four years. Both leaders held talks with the participation of delegations from the two countries as well as in the one-on-one format. The agenda of the talks included issues of economic and humanitarian cooperation, the situation in the region as well as many other topics.
Although the summit talks were limited to only one day, the program of Kim’s visit to Russia continues and he is expected to visit the Russian cities of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in the Khabarovsk Territory, and the city of Vladivostok (in the Primorye Territory).