SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his country’s growing ties with Russia in a message to President Vladimir Putin as Pyongyang marked the 81st anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, North Korea’s state news agency KCNA reported on Sunday.
Kim was responding to a congratulatory message from Putin marking Saturday’s anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. Putin said the relationship between Russia and North Korea was rooted in the role of Soviet forces in the fight against Japan and expressed support for continued cooperation across various sectors.
Kim said he hoped the two countries would further develop relations built on what he described as a shared history of struggle and longstanding friendship.
Relations between Pyongyang and Moscow have strengthened in recent years, including through expanded military cooperation. North Korea has provided troops and weapons in support of Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to Western and South Korean officials.
The Russian naval vessel Pallada also arrived at the North Korean port of Wonsan on Saturday for a goodwill visit linked to the liberation anniversary. North Korean provincial officials and Russian embassy representatives attended the reception, KCNA reported.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung used Liberation Day ceremonies on Saturday to call for renewed dialogue with North Korea and measures aimed at reducing the risk of military confrontation.
Lee said the two Koreas should establish safeguards against conflict and work toward replacing the armistice that ended the 1950–1953 Korean War with a formal peace regime. He also said dialogue could include discussions on North Korea’s nuclear programme.
North Korea has rejected Lee’s overtures and continued to criticise joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, describing them as provocative.
The latest exchange between Kim and Putin comes days after Putin visited an island in the disputed Kuril Islands chain, territory claimed by Japan and seized by the Soviet Union shortly after Japan’s surrender in 1945.
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