According to a Kremlin statement, Putin sent North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a message congratulating him on the country’s national holiday, Liberation Day.
In the message, Putin said Liberation Day symbolized the courage and resilience of Korean patriots and Red Army soldiers who fought together to free Korea from Japanese colonial rule.
The message said that the traditions of wartime brotherhood and mutual assistance, which formed the foundation for the development of friendly and good-neighborly relations between Russia and North Korea, had taken shape during that period. Putin said relations between Moscow and Pyongyang had reached an unprecedentedly high level in terms of comprehensive strategic partnership.
Putin also said that the two countries were actively cooperating in all areas and coordinating their efforts to ensure regional security and stability. The Russian leader said he believed constructive joint work on current issues on the bilateral and international agenda would continue for the benefit of the two countries’ peoples and with the aim of establishing a fairer, genuinely democratic world order.