Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to expand relations with North Korea, reaching out to his neighbor as the Kremlin scours the globe for weapons for its war in Ukraine.
Putin sent congratulations to North Korea for its Liberation Day holiday yesterday, which marks the end of Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula.
Although Putin regularly sends messages on the anniversary, this is the first one to be reported in North Korea’s state media since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Photo: AFP
The message said that the two countries “would continue to expand the comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations with common efforts,” the Korean Central News Agency reported.
In last year’s message, Putin highlighted World War II cooperation between the Soviet Union and Korean fighters, using similar language to say cooperation would contribute to security.
North Korea, which has a rail link with Russia, has backed Putin’s invasion. It is one of the few countries to have recognized the independence of the Kremlin-controlled people’s republics Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
North Korea has also been stockpiling artillery for decades, leading some analysts to speculate that it could be a source of armaments for Putin.
Russia’s ambassador to Pyongyang said that North Korea might be willing to send its workers to the two Russian-controlled breakaway areas in Ukraine, NK News reported last month.
North Korea has for years sent its workers to Russia and China, where they earn hard currency desperately needed by Pyongyang.
The US push to isolate Russia over Putin’s war in Ukraine, coupled with increasing animosity toward China, has enabled North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to bolster his nuclear deterrent without fear of facing more sanctions at the UN Security Council.
There is almost no chance Russia or China, which have veto power at the council, would support any measures against North Korea as they did in 2017, following a series of weapons tests that prompted then-US President Donald Trump to warn of “fire and fury.”
China and Russia in late May vetoed a UN Security Council resolution drafted by the US to ratchet up sanctions on North Korea for its ballistic missile tests this year.
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