North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is on board his special train on his way to Russia, where he is set to hold a meeting with his counterpart, Vladimir Putin — fueling Western fears that Pyongyang would make a deal with Moscow to supply weapons for the Ukraine war.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Monday that Kim will visit Russia “in the coming days” at Putin’s invitation, while North Korean state news agency KCNA said the two would “meet and have a talk.”

While neither country said when or where the much-anticipated summit between the two strongmen would take place, the New York Times reported last week that the site of the upcoming meeting may be a university campus in Vladivostok.

As it so happens, Putin arrived in Vladivostok Monday to take part in the annual Eastern Economic Forum.

Vladivostok — a major port city located in eastern Russia near the borders with China and North Korea – was where Kim held his first summit with Putin in 2019, which marked his last trip abroad.

The confirmation of the looming meeting came after the US National Security Council claimed that arms talks between North Korea and Russia were “actively advancing” on the heels of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s rare visit to Pyongyang in July.

After hobnobbing with HSoigu at an arms exhibition and a military parade, Kim toured North Korea’s weapons factories where he urged workers to speed up the development and large-scale production of new kinds of ammunition.  

Kim and Putin are expected to discuss possible agreements to supply the increasingly isolated Russia with weapons for the war after its stocks have been badly depleted.

North Korea has possibly tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets that would be compatible with Russian weapons and could give Moscow’s forces a major boost as Kyiv’s counteroffensive continues to intensify. 

In exchange, an impoverished North Korea could seek energy and food aid and advanced weapons technologies, including those related to intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines and military reconnaissance satellites, analysts said.

The White House on Monday called on North Korea not to sell arms to Russia for the war.

“We urge the DPRK to abide by the public commitments that Pyongyang has made to not provide or sell arms to Russia,” said Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.

Kim, 39, departed North Korea aboard his olive-green train that is said to be armored late Sunday, a senior South Korean government official told Reuters.

The train would take Kim to North Korea’s northeastern border with Russia and the summit with Putin could take place as early as Tuesday, said the official speaking on condition of anonymity.

Security was being beefed up and repairs were being made at the main train station in the Russian border city of Khasan, where Kim is expected to enter Russia, Japanese news outlets reports.

In Vladivostok, there was an increased police presence on the streets but no North Korean flags had been put on display — unlike ahead of Kim’s first visit.

North Korea is one of the few countries to have unreservedly supported Russia since the invasion of Ukraine — and Putin pledged last week to “expand bilateral ties in all respects in a planned way by pooling efforts.”

The US has previously warned that it would be a “huge mistake” for North Korea to supply Russia with weapons to use in Ukraine and warned Pyongyang would “pay a price.”

With Post wires