Message from the North Korean leader to the Russian president
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hailed Vladimir Putin as his “dear friend” in a New Year’s letter to the Russian president, praising the close bilateral ties between Pyongyang and Moscow. North Korean state media said this today.
The two countries have deepened political, military and cultural ties since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with Putin and Kim repeatedly professing their personal closeness. They signed a historic defense pact during the tsar’s visit to North Korea in June. The pact obliges them to provide immediate military assistance if the other is invaded and came into force this month.
Kim’s latest message described Putin as his “dear friend and comrade”, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The North’s leader sent “warm greetings of good wishes to the brotherly Russian people and to all the service personnel of the brave Russian army on behalf of himself, the Korean people and all the service personnel of the armed forces of the DPRK” (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea).
In a possible reference to the war in Ukraine, Kim also expressed hope that 2025 will be the year “when the Russian army and people will defeat neo-Nazism and achieve a great victory.” The United States and South Korea have accused the nuclear-armed North of sending more than 10,000 troops to help Moscow against Kiev.
