“Justice is sure to win and the Russian people will continue to add glory to the history of victory,” Kim said in the message published by the official Korean Central News Agency.
Kim called for “closer strategic cooperation” with Moscow, “holding hands firmly with the Russian president, in conformity with the common desire of the peoples of the two countries to fulfil the grand goal of building a powerful country,” it added.
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North Korea's Kim says Russia 'will prevail' over hostile forces in Victory Day message to Putin
North Korea's Kim says Russia 'will prevail' over hostile forces in Victory Day message to Putin
His message did not directly mention the invasion of Ukraine or Moscow’s involvement in an armed conflict, but praised Putin’s “correct decision and guidance … to foil the hostile forces’ escalating threats”.
The North Korean people, it added, extend “full support and solidarity to the Russian people in their all-out struggle for implementing the sacred cause to preserve the sovereign rights, development and interests of their country against the imperialists’ high-handed and arbitrary practices.”
North Korea has sought to forge closer ties with the Kremlin and backed Moscow after it invaded Ukraine last year, blaming the “hegemonic policy” and “high-handedness” of the United States and the West.Ukraine war: Russia seeks arms-for-food deal with North Korea, US says
Pyongyang has described the conflict as a US “proxy war” to destroy Russia, and condemned Western military aid to Kyiv.
And in March, Washington claimed to have proof that Moscow was looking to Pyongyang to supply weapons for its offensive in Ukraine, in return for food aid for impoverished North Korea.North Korea has, in recent years, suffered from a devastating food crisis brought about by a drought in 2022 and the tightening of food imports from China due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia has long held the line against increasing pressure on North Korea, which is under multiple UN and Western sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile programmes.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
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