A U.S. spokesman mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin for gifting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a Russian car, accusing Moscow of violating U.N. resolutions.
“President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin presented Kim Jong Un with a Russian-made car for his personal use,” North Korean state media said on Tuesday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later confirmed the gift, saying it was an Aurus, a full-size limousine used by Putin.
“When North Korea’s leader [North Korea] At Vostok, he saw the car, Putin showed it to him personally, and like many people, Kim Jong-un liked the car,” Peskov said.
“So the decision was made,” Peskov said. “North Korea is our neighbor, our immediate neighbor, and we intend and will continue to develop relations with all of our neighbors, including North Korea.”
Asked about the gift, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington on Wednesday, “Frankly, I didn’t actually know there was such a thing as a Russian luxury car.”
“I hope Kim gets an extended warranty,” he joked. “I’m not sure if I were to buy a luxury car, Russia would be the place I would go.”
“This gift clearly demonstrates the special personal relationship between the supreme leaders,” Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong said, according to North Korea’s Central News Agency.
Russia and North Korea have been growing closer since Moscow invaded Ukraine, with Kim Jong Un meeting Putin in Russia’s far east in September.
U.S. and South Korean officials say Russia, long a preeminent military power, has been so eager to replenish its arsenal that it has turned to imports from North Korea and Iran.
The United States responded to an earlier statement by South Korea, saying the gift would violate a U.N. Security Council ban on the shipment of luxury goods to North Korea, which has conducted provocative nuclear and missile tests for years.
“If this is true, Russia appears to have once again violated a U.N. Security Council resolution it supports,” Miller said.
Russia’s most famous car is the Lada, which became a laughing stock in the West during the Cold War for its austere, utilitarian design and its ultra-low price that attracted budget-conscious drivers outside the Soviet Union.
The car was modified with the help of French Renault, which gave up its 68% stake in the Lada company AvtoVAZ after the invasion of Ukraine, handing the assets to Moscow.
Reuters and AFP
