Russia, North Korea to continue cooperation 'in all sectors,' Putin says on Korean Liberation Day
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un exchanged messages marking the 81st anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule on Aug. 16, reaffirming the increasingly close relationship between the two countries.
Cooperation between Russia and North Korea would continue "in all the sectors," Putin said in his message, while Kim praised ties that had “carried forward the history of common struggle for justice and precious traditions of friendship,” according to Reuters.
North Korea has become a significant military supporter of Russia’s war in Ukraine, supplying troops, missiles, and artillery ammunition.
Zelensky said in his evening address on Aug. 10 that Russia has already received a shipment of additional ballistic missiles from Pyongyang — the latest development in a deepening military alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang that has included supplies of both arms and troops.
Russian forces have launched North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 short- and medium-range ballistic missiles during attacks against Ukraine.
Zelensky said that North Korean ballistic missiles were used in an Aug. 11 attack on Zaporizhzhia. In late July, a North Korean missile likely killed six family members in Kryvyi Rih.
Ukraine’s president said Russia was preparing to receive another 30,000 North Korean troops. Pyongyang previously sent an estimated 14,000 troops to Russia in 2024, where they fought Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast.
Putin and Kim signed their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty in June 2024, including a mutual-defense provision pledging assistance if either country is attacked.
