North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called relations with the Russian government invincible and called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “comrade in arms.”
Kim Jong Un’s statements came after Russian newspaper Vedomosti reported Putin’s possible visit to North Korea and Vietnam “in the coming weeks.”
The meeting between Kim Jong Un and Putin in Russia last year took ties between the two countries to a “higher level,” North Korean news agency KCNA reported.
In a message to Putin, the North Korean leader emphasized the results achieved by the Russian leader in creating “a strong country, despite all the challenges and sanctions imposed by hostile forces,” referring to Ukraine.
Kim Jong-un visited Russia in September 2023, where he visited the facilities of the Vostochny Cosmodrome, where the Russian space construction agency operates, where Putin promised help in building satellites.
The leaders of the two countries agreed to maintain new contacts.
Pyongyang and Moscow have been gradually strengthening diplomatic and security ties, especially as tensions escalate on the Korean Peninsula and Ukraine.
The North Korean delegation plans to visit Russia later this week.
Authorities in North America and South Korea have accused Pyongyang of sending weapons to Russia in the context of the war in Ukraine in exchange for technological assistance for its ballistic and nuclear programs.