North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed his unwavering support for Russia’s war in Ukraine during a meeting with a top Russian security official in Pyongyang, North Korean state media said on Saturday.
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Friday’s meeting between Kim and Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s Security Council secretary, followed a South Korean intelligence assessment in late February that North Korea had likely sent additional troops to Russia after its forces suffered heavy casualties fighting in the Russian-Ukraine war. Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle on Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after US President Donald Trump spoke with the two countries’ leaders, though it remains to be seen when it might take effect and what targets would be off-limits.
North Korean and Russian state media said Kim and Shoigu discussed various issues, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, Moscow’s dialogues with the Trump administration and the security situation on the Korean peninsula. They reaffirmed the willingness of the two countries’ leaders to “unconditionally” uphold a major mutual defence treaty reached at a summit last year in Pyongyang, which pledges mutual help if either country faces aggression, according to the reports.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim during the meeting said his government will “invariably support Russia in the struggle for defending the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests.”
Shoigu conveyed a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who extended his greetings to Kim and vowed to give “utmost attention” to implementing agreements reached in their recent summits. He expressed gratitude for North Korea’s “solidarity with Russia’s position on all critical geopolitical issues, particularly on the Ukrainian issue,” according to his televised comments.
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North Korean and Russia media did not report whether any new agreements were reached before Shoigu departed Pyongyang later on Friday.