Russia's Putin, North Korean leader Kim hold phone talks
In addition to congratulating the North Korean leader on the 80 years since Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Putin briefed Kim on his upcoming meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday, the Russian presidential office said.
Russia and North Korea have been bolstering military cooperation since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Putin has been briefing the leaders of friendly nations, such as China, India, South Africa and Brazil, in phone talks since the United States and Russia agreed to hold a summit meeting.
Friday also marks 80 years since Japan surrendered to the Allied forces in 1945. In North and South Korea, Aug. 15 is celebrated as Liberation Day.
Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945.
In Pyongyang in June last year, Kim and Putin signed a comprehensive partnership treaty. Since then, the two countries have been beefing up cooperation in a variety of fields.
In his conversation with Kim, Putin evaluated highly the role played by North Korean soldiers in taking back the Kursk region after Ukrainian forces made incursions into western Russia, according to the Kremlin.
The official Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday that Kim "expressed firm conviction" that Pyongyang "would always remain faithful to the spirit" of the treaty with Moscow and "fully support all measures to be taken by the Russian leadership in the future."
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