The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, expressed this Wednesday his conviction of the victory of the Army and the people of “Great Russia” in Ukraine, during a lunch hosted by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
“I am convinced that the heroic Russian army and people, who brilliantly inherited the traditions of victory, will demonstrate dignity and honor on two fronts: in the special military operation and in building a strong state,” Kim said.
Russia officially designates the invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, as a “special military operation.”
Kim toasted the “new victories of Great Russia”, cited by Russian and international agencies.
The lunch followed talks between the two leaders at the Russian Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Siberian Amur region of Russia’s Far East.
Kim said he intends to build stable and long-lasting relations with Russia with the help of the Kremlin chief.
“We will promote the construction of strong States in our countries and maintain true international stability,” he stated.
Regarding the content of the talks with Putin, which lasted more than two hours, Kim said they discussed in depth the “political and military situation on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe.”
“Our current visit comes at a time of fierce confrontation in the international arena between progressives and reactionaries, between justice and injustice, as well as the construction of a multipolar world,” Kim added.
Putin toasted the “future strengthening of friendship and cooperation” between the two countries.
“For the well-being and prosperity of our people,” he said in a solemn tone, according to Russian state television, cited by the French agency AFP.
“One old friend is better than two new ones,” Putin said, using a Russian proverb.
At the beginning of the meeting, Kim had already expressed North Korea’s “total and unconditional support” for Russia’s “sacred struggle” to defend its security and sovereignty interests.
“We have always supported and will support all of President Putin’s decisions,” he said, hoping that the visit, his second to Russia in four years, would raise bilateral relations to a new level.
The United States has warned North Korea that it will face consequences if it supplies weapons to Russia for the war against Ukraine.
Kremlin (Russian presidency) spokesman Dmitri Peskov stated at the end of the talks that cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang is not directed against anyone.
Peskov was part of the Moscow delegation at the talks, as well as the Ministers of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, and of Transport, Vitaly Savelyev, according to the Russian agency TASS.
Russian Deputy Prime Ministers Marat Khusnullin, Alexey Overchuk and Denis Mantourov, who is also Minister of Industry and Trade, also participated.
Source: TSF
