North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his conviction on Wednesday of the victory of the army and people of ‘Greater Russia’ in Ukraine, during a lunch hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I am convinced that the heroic Russian army and people, who brilliantly inherited the traditions of victory, will show dignity and honor on two fronts: in the special military operation and in building a strong state”Kim said.
Russia officially labels the invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, a ‘special military operation’.
Kim toasted the “new victories of Great Russia,” cited by Russian and international bodies.
The lunch followed talks between the two leaders at Russia’s Vostochny cosmodrome, in Siberia’s Amur region, in the Russian Far East.
Kim said he plans to build stable and lasting relations with Russia with the help of the Kremlin chief.
“We will encourage the building of strong states in our countries and maintain genuine international stability,” he said.
As for 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 takes place at a time of intense 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, quoted by the French agency AFP.
“One old friend is better than two new ones,” Putin said in a Russian proverb.
At the beginning of the meeting, Kim had already expressed North Korea’s “full and unconditional support” for Russia’s “holy struggle” to defend its security and sovereignty interests.
“We have always supported all decisions of President Putin and will continue to do so,” he said, hoping that the visit, his second to Russia in four years, will take bilateral ties to a new level.
The United States has warned North Korea that it will face consequences if it supplies Russia with weapons for its war against Ukraine.
Kremlin (Russian presidency) spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the end of the talks that cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang is not directed against anyone.
According to the Russian agency TASS, Peskov was part of the Moscow delegation at the talks, as well as the ministers of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, of Foreign Affairs, Serguei Lavrov, and of Transport, Vitaly Savelyev.
Russian Deputy Prime Ministers Marat Khusnullin, Alexey Overchuk and Denis Mantourov, also Minister of Industry and Trade, also participated.
Source: DN
