Putin meets North Korean party leaders as Kim Jong Un tests new missile
Putin held talks with North Korean delegation led by Ri Hi Yong, a secretary of the central committee of the North’s ruling Worker’s Party of Korea, in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with North Korean party leaders in the latest sign of deepening ties between the two countries as Kim Jong Un touted a new strategic missile tested earlier this week in a bid to bolster his “nuclear shield.”
Putin held talks with a North Korean delegation led by Ri Hi Yong, a secretary of the central committee of the North’s ruling Worker’s Party of Korea, in Moscow, Russia’s Interfax reported Thursday.
The report came shortly after Seoul said North Korea appears to have sent more troops to Russia to support Putin’s war against Ukraine, adding to the thousands of soldiers dispatched last year.
Kim has emerged as a key ally for Putin and his war in Ukraine, helping boost Moscow’s fighting presence on the ground in exchange for Russian aid meant to strengthen North Korea’s military and help sustain Kim’s regime.
The North Korean leader oversaw a launching drill of the country’s strategic cruise missile on Wednesday and called for a “more thorough battle readiness of nuclear force and full preparedness for their use.”
“It is the responsible mission and duty of the DPRK’s nuclear armed forces to permanently defend the national sovereignty and security with the reliable nuclear shield,” Kim said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency on Friday. DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The missiles hit targets after flying along a 1,587 kilometers-long oval trajectory, KCNA said, without elaborating on how many projectiles were fired. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it was monitoring signs of North Korea’s missile launch and is analyzing details of the projectiles that were fired off its west coast.
The North Korean delegation’s visit to Moscow comes as President Donald Trump has upended US policy on the war in Ukraine by agreeing to talk with Putin about halting the three-year-old Russian invasion.
The new US administration has refused to condemn Russia’s aggression, and raised the prospect of sanctions relief for Moscow in the event of a peace deal, sparking concerns that Washington might seek a deal that aligns with the Kremlin’s interests.
