Arya News - North Korea and Russia have been deepening economic, diplomatic and military cooperation, since signing a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2024. The agreement paved the way for North Korea`s military support in Russia`s war against Ukraine.
SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he expects “more excellent future” between the two countries, according to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency on Sunday.
The news comes a few hours after US President Donald Trump posted a 2019 photo of him and Kim, claiming an amicable relationship between the two.
Kim called Putin a friend and said he was “proud to be able to expect more excellent future in the bilateral relations” between Pyongyang and Moscow, in a response to Putin’s congratulatory message for the 81th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.
Kim reportedly told Putin that he believes Russia would accomplish “the sacred cause of defending the sovereignty, security interests and territorial integrity of the country under your (Putin’s) wise leadership.”
North Korea and Russia have been deepening economic, diplomatic and military cooperation, since signing a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2024. The agreement paved the way for North Korea’s military support in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Trump claims good relations with Kim
US President Donald Trump on Saturday posted a throwback photo of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2019, saying that they “get along great” while joking about apparent the lack of smile on the two men’s faces.
“Despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture, there are many where we’re smiling, Kim Jong Un and I get along GREAT!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, as he posted the photo taken in the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in 2019.
The White House has repeatedly said that the US leader is open to direct communications with Kim, without any preconditions. It is unclear if Pyongyang will respond to the call for talks, as local experts believe the communist state is moving to strengthen ties with China and Russia.
North Korea, which in the past had accused Washington of “hostile policy,” recently criticized security cooperation among South Korea, the US and Japan.
Trump’s recent social post came after the US president shared a similar photo in June of him with Kim, which was taken during the US-North Korean summit in Singapore in 2018. It was posted without accompanying comment or caption, but sparked speculation that Trump may try to rekindle his connection with Kim.