Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to develop relations between the two countries in during the first visit of the Russian head of state to Pyongyang in the last 24 years, reported Reuters, cited by BTA, referring to reports in the North Korean media.
Putin was met by Kim at Pyongyang International Airport, where the two leaders shook hands, hugged and talked outside the Russian president's plane. They then boarded a government limousine and headed to the hotel where the President of the Russian Federation is staying.
Putin arrived on his first visit to North Korea in nearly a quarter of a century with a promise to deepen bilateral trade and defense ties and to support Pyongyang in its opposition to the United States, Reuters notes.
The meeting between Putin and Kim demonstrated the "invincibility and durability" of friendship between North Korea and Russia, North Korean state media KCTA said. The relations between Pyongyang and Moscow have become "a strong strategic fortress for the preservation of international justice, peace and security, as well as an engine that accelerates the construction of a new multipolar world", adds the Central Committee of the Central Committee.
US accuses North Korea of supplying "dozens of ballistic missiles and more than 11,000 ammunition containers to Russia" about her war in Ukraine. Moscow and Pyongyang deny that there is a transfer of military equipment between them, but have vowed to strengthen their cooperation in the field of defense, which may also include joint exercises of the two armies.
Hours before Putin meets Kim in Pyongyang, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg raised concerns about Russia's support for North Korea's missile and nuclear programs. After speaking with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Stoltenberg told reporters that Russia's war in Ukraine is supported by China, North Korea and Iran, who want the Western alliance to fail.
"Of course we are also concerned about the potential support that Russia provides to North Korea when it comes to assisting its missile and nuclear programs,", the NATO Secretary General said. According to him, this trend, as well as the help that China provides to the Russian military economy, illustrate the fact that the security challenges in Europe are connected to Asia. He added that next month's NATO summit in Washington will see further strengthening of the alliance's partnerships with Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan. Stoltenberg stressed that at a certain stage there must be "consequences" for China. "They cannot continue to have normal trade relations with countries in Europe and at the same time fuel the biggest war we have seen in Europe since World War II," he said.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Monday that Washington was monitoring relations between North Korea and Russia "very, very carefully" because "there could be some reciprocity ... that would affect of the security of the Korean peninsula".
White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said yesterday that deepening cooperation between Russia and North Korea was "a trend that should be of great concern to anyone interested in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula" .