Russian President Vladimir Putin acclaimed the North Korean troops that fight on the front in Ukraine by calling them “heroic” in a letter addressed to Kim Jong-un, according to Pyongyang’s state media on Friday.
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On the occasion of the anniversary of the National Day of Liberation of Korea, Mr. Putin recalled that units of the Red Army and Koreans had fought together to end the Japanese occupation of the peninsula.
“The links of militant, goodwill and mutual aid who consolidated themselves during the war a long time ago remain solid and reliable today,” said Vladimir Putin in a letter revealed by the North Korean state media.
“This has been fully proven by the heroic participation of RPDC soldiers (the official name of North Korea) in the release of the Koursk region of the Ukrainian occupants,” he said, the KCNA news agency said.
“The Russian people will forever keep the memory of their bravery and their sacrifice.”
Putin added that the two countries would continue to “act jointly and effectively defend their sovereignty, while providing a significant contribution to the establishment of a just and multipolar global order”.
Russia and North Korea recently consolidated their links, the two countries that signed a mutual defense pact last year, during a visit to the Russian president in the country.
In April, North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had deployed a contingent of its soldiers on the front line in Ukraine, alongside the Russian troops.