The claim: Video shows Kim Jong Un visiting Moscow on Sept. 30
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech in Moscow on Sept. 30 in which he announced that Russia had annexed four regions of Ukraine.
One viral Facebook post claims North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was in Moscow for the speech.
The Sept. 30 Facebook post includes a video of the North Korean leader walking with Putin and shaking hands with various officials.
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“In an unprecedented visit.. (sic) North Korean president arrives in Moscow to coincide with upcoming speech by Russian president today,” reads the video’s caption.
The video has garnered more than 1,500 views. Similar viral iterations have been shared on Facebook and Twitter.
The claim is false. The footage shared in the post was originally captured in 2019 when Putin and Kim held a summit in Vladivostok, Russia. The meeting was covered by numerous media outlets at the time.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment.
Video was captured in 2019
The video was originally captured on April 25, 2019, when Kim arrived in Vladivostok for a summit with Putin. It was the first time the two leaders had met face-to-face, and they reportedly discussed security and denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Footage of the meeting, including the clip featured in the Facebook post, was shared online by Global News, Reuters and CNN at the time.
Pictures from the day were captured and published by the Kremlin, as well as AP and Getty Images.
Fact check: Photo of guards saluting Vladimir Putin was taken in Russia, not South Africa
The Kremlin’s website does not mention any recent or pending meetings with Kim following Putin’s Sept. 30 speech.
This claim has been debunked by Reuters and AP News as well.
Earlier this year, USA TODAY debunked the claim that the same video showed Putin meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a video shows Kim visiting Moscow on Sept. 30. The video was captured in 2019 when Putin and Kim met for a summit in Vladivostok.
Our fact-check sources:
- USA TODAY, Oct. 2, Putin proclaims he’s annexing four regions of Ukraine; U.S. slaps new sanctions on Russia: Sept. 30 recap
- USA TODAY, April 25, 2019, After Kim-Trump summit collapse, North Korean leader holds talks with Vladimir Putin
- YouTube, April 25, 2019, Global News
- Reuters, April 25, 2019, Tweet
- CNN, April 27, 2019, Kim Jong Un accuses US of acting in ‘bad faith’
- Kremlin, accessed Oct. 6, Events
- Reuters, Oct. 3, Fact Check-Video does not show Russia’s Putin and North Korea’s Kim meeting in 2022. Clip dates to 2019
- AP News, Oct. 2, Video shows N. Korea’s Kim visiting Russia in 2019, not 2022
- USA TODAY, March 10, Fact check: Video shows 2019 meeting between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un
- Kremlin, April 25, 2019, Russian-North Korean talks
- AP Images, April 25, 2019, Putin-Kim Summit
- Getty Images, April 25, 2019, Kim Jong Un – Vladimir Putin
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