North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reaffirmed a pledge to deepen co-operation with Russia in a message to Russian president Vladimir Putin as Pyongyang marked an anniversary of independence from Japan’s colonial rule, KCNA state news agency said on Friday.
This was in reply to a message of congratulations from Mr Putin on the August 15th liberation day anniversary, in which the Russian leader said the bond forged between the two countries as Soviet soldiers fought against Japan continues to serve as the basis of their ties, KCNA said.
“The friendly feelings of the armies and peoples of the two countries forged and deepened in the bloody struggle against the common enemy serve as a strong driving force for developing... relations of friendship and co-operation into comprehensive strategic partnership and invincible comradeship,” Mr Kim said.
Mr Kim and Mr Putin held a second summit meeting in less than a year in Pyongyang in June, signing a pact on “comprehensive strategic partnership” that includes a mutual defence agreement.
It came amid accusations by South Korea, Ukraine and the United States that Mr Kim is helping Russia in the war against Ukraine by supplying rockets and missiles in return for economic and other military assistance from Moscow.
Mr Kim visited a memorial honouring the Korean revolutionary soldiers who fought in resistance to Japan to end the 1910-1945 colonial rule, and the Liberation Tower where Soviet Red Army soldiers are remembered, KCNA said.
North Korea’s state founder Kim Il-sung, Mr Kim’s grandfather, was backed by Soviet Union general secretary Joseph Stalin, who declared war against Japan near the end of the second World War.
The Soviets backed Kim Il-sung’s communist forces that established North Korea after Korea’s liberation in 1945.
North Korean state media made no mention of a blueprint for unification announced by South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday, calling for dialogue with Pyongyang and proposing an international conference on human rights in North Korea.
Coming at a low point in ties between the two Koreas, Mr Yoon’s blueprint was viewed with scepticism by some experts, who doubt whether it is realistic to expect Pyongyang to see it as anything other than an existential threat to its regime.
On Friday, South Korea’s unification minister Kim Yung-ho, who oversees inter-Korea relations, said he disagreed with those who say North Korea will reject the plan, if it responds at all.
“I believe North Korea will carefully review our government proposal,” he told a briefing. – Reuters
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