PYONGYANG: While greeting the North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un on Liberation Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasised strengthening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang on Tuesday.
Both nations, which are increasingly isolated, have grown relatively closer since war broke out between Russia and Ukraine last year resulting in widespread conflicts.
“I am sure that we will continue to build up bilateral cooperation in all areas for the benefit of our peoples, in the interests of strengthening stability and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the Northeast Asian region as a whole,” Putin said in a statement distributed by the Kremlin.
Putin suggested that after Korea’s liberation from Japan and “harsh wartime” the groundwork for close co-operation between Moscow and Pyongyang was laid down.
According to a statement, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu praised his nation’s relationship with North Korea after a meeting with his counterpart Kang Sun Nam in Pyongyang last month. In response to the visit, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the US believed Shoigu was in North Korea to obtain supplies of weaponry to support Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
On the contrary, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, while also celebrating Liberation Day on Tuesday, referred to Japan as a “partner” who shares his country’s values and goals.–Agencies
