VLADIMIR Putin has reportedly gifted Kim Jong-un a £350,000 limousine as a thank-you for North Korean weapons.
The move is thought to be the latest sign of a growing bond between the two powerful despots.
It comes as the North Korean dictator was revealed to have splashed the cash on a collection of luxury cars and was recently spotted in four new foreign vehicles.
The Kremlin confirmed on Tuesday that a Russian-made full-sized luxury sedan limousine by Aurus, Russia’s first luxury car brand, was on its way to North Korea.
According to North Korean state media said the car was hand-delivered by a Russian delegation over the weekend.
Putin’s elaborate gift is likely to be in violation of Moscow-backed United Nations Security Council sanctions against Pyongyang, which bans the supply of luxury goods including all “transportation vehicles” to the nation.
Kim is said to be a motor enthusiast – and a lover of Mercedes.
In the last month alone he has been seen riding in a £160,000 armoured Mercedes-Maybach S560 sedan, a luxury Mercedes and a Lexus SUV, according to Seoul-based NK News.
It is not known how the vehicles reached North Korea, which for more than a decade has been restricted by the sanctions.
But the regime has a long-standing tradition of smuggling in luxury items such as designer bags, clothes and expensive alcohol enjoyed by the Kim dynasty and Pyongyang elites.
When the North Korean depot visited Russia last year he was pictured inspecting Putin’s presidential Anrus Senat limousine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the decision to gift the motor was made after Kim took a liking to Mr Putin’s own Aurus Senat Limousine – a bespoke luxury car.
The Kremlin has neither confirmed nor denied its use of North Korea-made weapons in its invasion of Ukraine.
North Korea has denied shipping arms to Russia, which would also be a violation of UN sanctions.
Since Mr Kim’s visit to Russia in September, exchanges of delegations between the two countries have become more frequent.
In 2019 Kim was pictured with jogging bodyguards beside his limo ahead of his meeting with Donald Trump.
Around a dozen minders in dark suits were seen jogging along either side of the vehicle as it drove through Hanoi.
The dictator’s suit-clad security team sprung into action to surround the car on all sides to ensure their leader was kept safe.
Inside Kim Jong-un's car collection
KIM Jong-un is known to be a motor enthusiast - here's the swanky cars he's been seen riding in:
- Maybach S600 Pullman Guard (£1,198,000)
- S600 Pullman Guard – (£1,243,000)
- Rolls-Royce Phantom – (£407,000)
- Armoured Mercedes-Maybach (£1,198,839)
- Lexus SUV – (£55,000)
- Russian-made bulletproof Aurus limousine (£350,000)
