Not late as usual, Putin arrived 30 minutes early to wait for Kim Jong-un.
(Baonghean.vn) - Russian President Vladimir Putin, famous for always being late to meetings with world leaders, surprised many people by appearing very early before the first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on April 25.
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| President Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: Internet |
Mr Putin arrived about 30 minutes ahead of schedule and “waited” for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok. When Mr Kim got out of the car, President Putin greeted him warmly and Mr Kim responded by thanking Mr Putin for the invitation to Russia.
Putin's habit of tardiness has been well-known worldwide since he took office in 2000. Most recently, he kept US President Donald Trump waiting for nearly an hour during their summit in Helsinki last July. Putin also kept German Chancellor Angela Merkel waiting for four hours and 15 minutes in 2014. Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye also had to wait 30 minutes for Putin at a meeting in 2013.
Analysts said that the unexpected early appearance at the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has caused excitement, amid information that the Russia-North Korea summit will focus on discussing the issue of North Korea's denuclearization after the failure of the second US-North Korea summit in February.
There are many explanations for this habit of Mr. Putin, some say it is a tactic to seize the initiative in diplomacy, while others consider it simply a "bad habit"./.