Kim Jong-un Won’t Attend World War II Celebration in Moscow

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/01/world/asia/kim-jong-un-wont-attend-celebration-in-moscow.html

Version 0 of 1.

MOSCOW — Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, will not attend a celebration in Moscow in May of the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany, a top Russian official said on Thursday.

Dmitri S. Peskov, President Vladimir V. Putin’s spokesman, said that Moscow had learned of Mr. Kim’s decision through “diplomatic channels,” and that the tentative plans were canceled because of “internal Korean affairs,” the Interfax news agency reported.

Kremlin representatives have said several times this year that they expect the North Korean leader to attend.

The visit to Moscow would have been Mr. Kim’s first trip abroad since assuming power in 2011 after his father and predecessor died. It would also have provided a rare glimpse of Mr. Kim, who wears a Mao suit, runs prison gulags and invites the former N.B.A. star Dennis Rodman to basketball games, while routinely instructing his military to be prepared for a nuclear war with the United States.

As far as is publicly known, Mr. Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, never made an appearance at multilateral meetings of foreign leaders. However, he visited China and Russia, his country’s two major allies, many times, traveling on an armored train because of his fear of flying. Kim Jong-un has yet to hold meetings with either the Chinese or Russian president.

Most European leaders have shunned the military celebrations after Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its role in the crisis in eastern Ukraine. Mr. Putin, who has sought to show that he has not been isolated by Western sanctions, has been trying to build relationships with leaders from the developing world, including South America, Africa and Asia.

President Park Geun-hye of South Korea also decided not to attend the ceremony, and she will instead send a special envoy, removing any possibility for a summit meeting between the Koreas in Moscow.

The National Intelligence Service, the South Korean spy agency, told Parliament members on Wednesday that when it had checked hotels in Moscow, it had found no signs of the North Korean government having reserved a large number of rooms.

The military parade, which includes nuclear weapons, will be attended by dignitaries including President Xi Jinping of China and President Pranab Mukherjee of India. The United States’ ambassador to Russia will also attend.