Russian President Vladimir Putin heaped reward on North Korean troops preventing in Ukraine as “heroic” in a letter penned to Kim Jong-un, North Korean state media reported.
The 2 nations have been forging nearer ties since Putin’s warfare in Ukraine, with Kim deploying greater than 12,000 North Korean troops to battle alongside Moscow.
“The bonds of army friendship, goodwill and mutual help, which have been consolidated within the days of the warfare way back, stay stable and dependable even immediately,” Putin wrote within the letter marking the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule on Aug. 15, 1945, when each nations fought side-by-side.
“This was demonstrated by the heroic participation of the Democratic Folks’s Republic of Korea’s troopers in liberating the territory of the Kursk area from the Ukrainian occupiers,” he stated.
Pyongyang’s wave of troopers — many inexperienced in trendy warfare — helped Russia retake the Kursk area following Ukraine’s shock counter-invasion final summer time, which had left the Kremlin humiliated.
“The Russian folks will hold ceaselessly the reminiscences of their bravery and self-sacrifice,” Puttin added, based on the Korean Central Information Company.
The Russian strongman stated the 2 international locations would proceed to “act collectively and successfully defend their sovereignty and make a major contribution to establishing a simply and multi-polar world order.”
Putin’s letter got here alongside a go to to Pyongyang by a Russian delegation, thanking Kim for sending “glorious troopers” to Ukraine.
Kim stated he spoke with Putin by cellphone Wednesday, agreeing to extend cooperation and hold “nearer communication” between their international locations.
Final month, South Korean intelligence warned North Korea was set to ship 30,000 extra troops to assist in Putin’s warfare machine, whereas estimating the hermit kingdom was now supplying nearly half of Russia’s ammunition for its invasion.
The 2 leaders signed a mutual protection pact final yr, when Putin visited the reclusive state, that was hailed as their strongest connection because the Chilly Warfare.
