Kim Jong Un welcomes Putin with mighty military parade in North Korea

After being greeted warmly with a handshake and a hug by the pariah state’s dynastic dictator Kim Jong Un, a huge motorcade ferried the Russian President to Pyongyang’s main square where thousands upon thousands of adoring citizens were eagerly awaiting his arrival. The crowds erupted into cheers and let loose a torrent of bright coloured balloons at the sight of the Kremlin chief, who stood beside his host and took in the rapturous applause before they made their way through Kim Il Sung Square along a huge red carpet. The pair were saluted by a string of military guards atop snow-white horses before making their way past a gaggle of children clutching balloons and waving frantically at the smirking autocrats. Other revellers were seen touting huge portraits of the Russian President standing beside the Russian flag – the colours of which adorned the facades of buildings around the square. The ceremony also gave Kim a chance to introduce Putin to a host of key figures in his Politburo, including Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui; top aide and ruling party secretary Jo Yong Won; and his powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, who besides her role as chief propagandist has in recent months become a fiery-tongued mouthpiece of the regime. After touring the square, Kim and Putin then travelled together to Pyongyang’s Kumsusan State Guest House, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said, for their first talks together on North Korean soil.