Putin has opened his talks with Kim by telling him of Moscow’s appreciation for Pyongyang’s support including on Ukraine, Russia’s Tass news agency reports. The Russian president said:
We highly appreciate your consistent and unwavering support for Russian policy, including in the Ukrainian direction.
Russia is fighting “decades of imposed US imperialist policies”, Putin reportedly told Kim.
Kim says North Korean-Russian relations entering a period of ‘new prosperity’
It’s Kim Jong-un’s turn to speak at his meeting with Vladimir Putin and he has told the Russian president that relations between their two countries are entering a period of “new prosperity”, according to Russian news agency Tass.
Kim also reportedly noted Russia’s role in “maintaining the strategic balance in the world” and expressed support for the “special operation”, which is what Moscow calls its invasion of Ukraine.
Pyongyang intends to strengthen “strategic cooperation” with Russia, Kim said.
A few images have started to arrive from Putin’s welcome ceremony in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, showing the Russian president and his host, Kim Jong-un, walking past a row of grey horses ridden by soldiers in ceremonial uniform and a group of smiling children holding balloons.
Source: The Guardian
