Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly gifted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a Russian Aurus Senat Limousine – despite United Nations sanctions.
As per a Reuters report, during Kim Jong Un’s visit to Russia in September 2023, Putin showed him one of his black armored cars. According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov:
“When the head of North Korea was at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, he looked at this car, Putin showed it to him personally, and like many people, Kim liked this car. Hence this decision was made. North Korea is our neighbor, our close neighbor, and we intend, and will continue, to develop our relations with all neighbors, including North Korea.”
The Russian Government denied the gift violates United Nations sanctions that ban supplying luxury items to North Korea, which had been imposed to pressure the country to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram:
“I think champions of international legal purity should be asked what damage is caused by illegal sanctions when, because of the West’s sanctions war, people the world over cannot secure food, medicines, and vaccines.”
North Korean news agency KCNA reported Kim Jong Un accepted the gift and thanked Russian President Putin. He reportedly said the gift “serves as a clear demonstration of the special personal relations between the top leaders of North Korea and Russia and as the best one”.
Aurus Motors is a Russian luxury car manufacturer that was founded in 2018. Its vehicles were originally commissioned for Russian Government use until 2021 when it sold its first civilian model. While current pricing isn’t readily available, when the Senat was released to the Russian public it cost more than 20 million rubles, which at current exchange rates works out to be just over PKR 6.05 crore.
The Aurus Senat Limousine uses a 4.4L twin-turbo V8 engine that produces 595 hp of power and 880 Nm of torque. It offers VR8/VR10-level ballistic protection which Aurus claims is the international standard for armoured vehicles.
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