Putin says Kim Jong-il told him about nuclear bomb in North Korea in early 2000s

MOSCOW, October 4. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he was told personally about the existence of a nuclear bomb in North Korea by the country’s ex-leader, Kim Jong-il, at the beginning of the 2000s. "In 2001, when I was on my way to Japan, I made a stopover in North Korea, where I had a meeting with the father of the country’s current leader," Putin said at the Russian Energy Week forum. "It was back then that he told me they had a nuclear bomb. Moreover, (South Korean capital of) Seoul was within the hitting range of their standard artillery systems at that time." "When was that? In 2001! It is 2017 already, the country has been living under permanent sanctions, and instead of a nuclear bomb they now have a hydrogen bomb," the Russian president said. Putin stressed that Western sanctions against North Korea had not changed the situation in any way. He also recalled that an agreement with North Korea had nearly been reached at some point, and Pyongyang pledged to halt its nuclear program. "However, it was decided literally a week later to block the accounts of North Korean banks, because someone felt the obligations assumed by North Korea are not enough, that it can and should do more. But that was precisely what they agreed on. What was the reason for provoking them? They immediately withdrew from all agreements and began developing their nuclear program. Now we have what we have," Putin said. Read more