©(Photo by Mikhail METZEL / POOL / AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in North Korea on Wednesday, the Kremlin said, kicking off a visit set to boost defense ties between the two nuclear-armed countries as Moscow pursues its war in Ukraine.
Ahead of Putin's late-night touchdown, huge banners with a smiling photograph of the Russian leader reading "We ardently welcome President Putin!" were hung from lampposts across Pyongyang alongside Russian flags, images in Russian state media showed.
The trip is Putin's first to the isolated nation in 24 years, with a recent confrontation between North and South Korean troops on the countries' shared border highlighting regional security tensions.
Moscow and Pyongyang have been allies since North Korea's founding after World War II and have drawn even closer since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to the West isolating Putin internationally.
The United States and its allies have accused North Korea of supplying Russia with much-needed arms, including ballistic missiles to use in Ukraine.
The North has denied giving Russia military hardware, but ahead of his trip, Putin thanked Kim Jong Un's government for helping the war effort.
"We highly appreciate that the DPRK (North Korea) is firmly supporting the special military operations of Russia being conducted in Ukraine," Putin wrote in an article published by Pyongyang's state media on Tuesday.
Russia and the North are "now actively developing the many-sided partnership", Putin wrote.
Both countries are under rafts of UN sanctions -- Pyongyang since 2006 over banned nuclear and ballistic missile programs and Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.
Putin praised North Korea for "defending their interests very effectively despite the US economic pressure, provocation, blackmail and military threats that have lasted for decades".
He also hailed Moscow and Pyongyang for "maintaining the common line and stand at the UN".
North Korea said the visit showed bilateral ties "are getting stronger day by day", the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
'Lonely Bromance'
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Putin's trip showed how he was "dependent" on authoritarian leaders.
"Their closest friends and the biggest supporters of the Russian war effort -- war of aggression -- (are) North Korea, Iran and China," Stoltenberg said.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the international community to counter "the lonely bromance" between Putin and Kim by increasing arms supplies to Kyiv.
"The best way to respond to it is to continue strengthening the diplomatic coalition for just and lasting peace in Ukraine and delivering more Patriots and ammunition to Ukraine," Kuleba told AFP.
North Korea is eager for high-end military technology to advance its nuclear, missile, satellite and nuclear-powered submarine programmes, according to experts.
The Kremlin released a document on Tuesday confirming that Russia plans to sign a "strategic partnership" treaty with North Korea.
Given North Korea's chronic resource shortages, Pyongyang is expected to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in areas such as tourism, agriculture and mining, "in exchange for providing military supplies" to Russia, a report from Seoul-based Institute for National Security Strategy report said.
Other issues including "cooperation on the deployment of North Korean workers or the supply of energy to North Korea -- both of which would violate sanctions... are also likely to be discussed" behind the scenes, INSS researcher Kim Sung-bae wrote.
Cat Barton with AFP
Ahead of Putin's late-night touchdown, huge banners with a smiling photograph of the Russian leader reading "We ardently welcome President Putin!" were hung from lampposts across Pyongyang alongside Russian flags, images in Russian state media showed.
The trip is Putin's first to the isolated nation in 24 years, with a recent confrontation between North and South Korean troops on the countries' shared border highlighting regional security tensions.
Moscow and Pyongyang have been allies since North Korea's founding after World War II and have drawn even closer since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to the West isolating Putin internationally.
The United States and its allies have accused North Korea of supplying Russia with much-needed arms, including ballistic missiles to use in Ukraine.
The North has denied giving Russia military hardware, but ahead of his trip, Putin thanked Kim Jong Un's government for helping the war effort.
"We highly appreciate that the DPRK (North Korea) is firmly supporting the special military operations of Russia being conducted in Ukraine," Putin wrote in an article published by Pyongyang's state media on Tuesday.
Russia and the North are "now actively developing the many-sided partnership", Putin wrote.
Both countries are under rafts of UN sanctions -- Pyongyang since 2006 over banned nuclear and ballistic missile programs and Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.
Putin praised North Korea for "defending their interests very effectively despite the US economic pressure, provocation, blackmail and military threats that have lasted for decades".
He also hailed Moscow and Pyongyang for "maintaining the common line and stand at the UN".
North Korea said the visit showed bilateral ties "are getting stronger day by day", the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
'Lonely Bromance'
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Putin's trip showed how he was "dependent" on authoritarian leaders.
"Their closest friends and the biggest supporters of the Russian war effort -- war of aggression -- (are) North Korea, Iran and China," Stoltenberg said.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the international community to counter "the lonely bromance" between Putin and Kim by increasing arms supplies to Kyiv.
"The best way to respond to it is to continue strengthening the diplomatic coalition for just and lasting peace in Ukraine and delivering more Patriots and ammunition to Ukraine," Kuleba told AFP.
North Korea is eager for high-end military technology to advance its nuclear, missile, satellite and nuclear-powered submarine programmes, according to experts.
The Kremlin released a document on Tuesday confirming that Russia plans to sign a "strategic partnership" treaty with North Korea.
Given North Korea's chronic resource shortages, Pyongyang is expected to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in areas such as tourism, agriculture and mining, "in exchange for providing military supplies" to Russia, a report from Seoul-based Institute for National Security Strategy report said.
Other issues including "cooperation on the deployment of North Korean workers or the supply of energy to North Korea -- both of which would violate sanctions... are also likely to be discussed" behind the scenes, INSS researcher Kim Sung-bae wrote.
Cat Barton with AFP
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