North Korea’s leader expresses hope that Moscow will defeat ‘neo-Nazism and achieve a great victory’ in Ukraine.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has paid tribute to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a New Year’s message praising deepening ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, state media reported.
In a letter to mark the New Year, Kim greeted his “dearest friend and comrade” Putin, the Russian people and Russian military personnel, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Tuesday.
Kim wished Putin “greater success in his responsible and serious activities of state leadership and the Russian people prosperity, well-being and happiness,” KCNA said.
Kim expressed willingness to “design and push forward with new projects” involving Pyongyang and Moscow after their “meaningful journey” in 2024, KCNA said, and hopes Russia will defeat “neo-Nazism and achieve a great victory” in Ukraine.
Putin has claimed without evidence that his invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was necessary to protect Russian speakers from a “neo-Nazi dictatorship”.
North Korea and Russia have increased ties significantly since the start of the war.
In June, Kim and Putin signed a mutual defense pact during the Russian leader’s first visit to North Korea in nearly a quarter century.
Since then, Pyongyang has sent more than 10,000 troops to help Russian forces in Ukraine, according to South Korean and Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month that his forces had killed or wounded more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service has estimated North Korean casualties at around 100 killed and 1,000 wounded.
