Moscow and Pyongyang will get Closer, Putin Promised Kim Jong-un

Russia will deepen its relations with North Korea by expanding the scope of bilateral ties.

This, according to the Korean Central Telegraph Agency (cited by world and Russian media), was communicated by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the leader of the East Asian country, Kim Jong-un, in a letter on the occasion of its liberation day.

Joint efforts in "constructive bilateral relations" corresponded to the "interests of the peoples" of both countries and would help strengthen the security of the Korean Peninsula and in East Asia.

In return, according to Kim, the friendship between the two countries dating back to World War II will strengthen. In his answer (the translation is by RBC), Kim stated that the Russian-Korean friendship had been strengthened "century after century" ever since the war between the Russian Empire and Japan. An agreement signed by both sides in 2019 for rapprochement in some areas will also be used to strengthen these ties. The North Korean leader wished Putin good results in the work "to protect the sovereignty and interests of the country and the people".

World media and Russian media are paying attention to the letter because warm relations between Moscow and Pyongyang have cooled in the years since the end of the Cold War: the Soviet Union was a key partner for the regime of Kim Il-sung and, subsequently, Kim Jong-il. Since the beginning of the century, some connections have been restored.

This summer, North Korea was among the few to officially recognize the separatist Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic as independent, as Russia did in Ukraine two days before it attacked.

Both the North and the South celebrate Korea's Liberation Day...