North Korea's Kim vows to deepen ties with Russia in reply to Putin

Seoul: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to expand and deepen "joint work" with Moscow in a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, state media reported Tuesday, amid the two nations' strengthening military and economic ties.

Kim expressed his "deep" thanks to Putin in a reply to the Russian president's recent congratulatory message marking North Korea's 78th founding anniversary that fell on September 9, reports Yonhap, quoting the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korea's will remains "firm without doubt to expand and deepen the joint work with the Russian Federation comprehensively... based on the tradition of friendship, good neighbourliness and mutual aid and the firm relations of alliance between the two countries," the letter said.

He did not specify what the "joint work" meant, but it appeared to point to deepening military and economic cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

The North's leader said the two countries were continuously "writing a new biography of the great history of alliance" in the face of an "uneven historical storm" and promised unwavering support for Russia in its war against Ukraine, the KCNA showed.

North Korea and Russia signed the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty during Putin's state visit to Pyongyang in June 2024. The treaty calls for providing military assistance "without delay" if either side comes under attack.

Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops and conventional weapons to Russia to help support its war against Ukraine.

Earlier this month, North Korea and Russia opened a new road bridge over the Tumen River, Pyongyang's state media reported on Tuesday, calling it key infrastructure to help "revitalise" multifaceted cooperation.

The opening ceremony took place in Rason in North Korea and Khasan in Russia, virtually attended by North Korean Premier Pak Thae-song and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

The construction began in April last year, following a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2024 in Pyongyang.

The bridge would "ensure the safe passage of various kinds of vehicles and personnel traffic," the KCNA said, offering "a guarantee for building up and reinforcing an important infrastructure for economic cooperation between the two countries and revitalising multifaceted cooperation including human exchange, tourism and commodity circulation."

Calling the bridge a "new symbol" of friendship between the two countries, Pak said it adds "a new dynamic movement to the overall bilateral cooperation."

The relations between the two countries "have been put on an unprecedentedly high level of comprehensive strategic partnership," Mishustin said, according to the report.

"Russia would as ever do its utmost for the multifaceted development of the bilateral relations," he added.

The bridge was named after Yakov Novichenko, a Soviet Red Army officer credited with saving the life of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung in 1946, according to the KCNA.

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