North Korean chief Kim Jong Un delivers a speech to displaced residents of flood-affected areas upon his arrival in Pyongyang, North Korea, Aug. 15, 2024. | Picture credit score: AP
North Korean chief Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his dedication to deepening cooperation with Russia in a message to President Vladimir Putin as Pyongyang marks the anniversary of its independence from Japanese colonial rule, state information company KCNA reported on Friday (Aug 16, 2024).
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It was in response to a congratulatory message from Putin on the anniversary of Liberation Day on August 15, the place the Russian chief mentioned the bond solid when Soviet troopers fought in opposition to Japan continues to function the inspiration of their ties, KCNA mentioned.
“The pleasant emotions of the armies and peoples of the 2 international locations, solid and deepened within the bloody wrestle in opposition to the frequent enemy, function a robust driving power for creating… pleasant and cooperative relations right into a complete strategic partnership and invincible comradeship,” Kim mentioned.
Kim and Putin held a second summit in lower than a yr in June in Pyongyang, signing a “complete strategic partnership” pact that features a mutual protection settlement.
This got here amid accusations from South Korea, Ukraine and america that Kim helps Russia in its conflict in opposition to Ukraine by supplying rockets and missiles in change for financial and army help from Moscow.
Kim visited a monument honoring Korean revolutionary troopers who fought within the resistance to Japan to finish the 1910-1945 colonial rule and the Liberation Tower, the place Soviet Crimson Military troopers are remembered, KCNA mentioned.
North Korean state founder Kim Il Sung, grandfather of the present chief, was backed by Soviet Common Secretary Joseph Stalin, who declared conflict on Japan close to the tip of World Struggle II.
The Soviets supported Kim’s communist forces who finally established North Korea after the liberation of Korea in 1945.
North Korean state media made no point out of the unification plan introduced by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday, which requires dialogue with Pyongyang and proposes a world convention on human rights in North Korea.
Yoon’s plan, which comes at a low level in inter-Korean relations, has been met with skepticism amongst some consultants, who doubt it’s reasonable to anticipate Pyongyang to view it as something apart from an existential menace to its regime.
On Friday, South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho, who oversees relations between the 2 Koreas, mentioned he disagreed with those that say North Korea will reject the plan if it responds.
“I imagine North Korea will rigorously evaluate our authorities proposal,” he mentioned at a information convention.
