North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has expressed “full support” for Russia ahead of a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in the US state of Alaska later this week, state media reported on Wednesday.
Putin spoke with Kim on Tuesday and they praised the expansion of cooperation under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement between North Korea and Russia, pledging to deepen ties, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea has sent thousands of troops to help Russia in its war against Ukraine, after Putin and Kim signed the partnership in Pyongyang in June 2024.
The agreement calls for expanded military support in the event that either side is attacked by a third party.
Kim also firmly affirmed that his country will always remain true to the spirit of the agreement between Pyongyang and Moscow “and will fully support any measures taken by the Russian leadership in the future.”
Putin expressed gratitude and praised Pyongyang’s support as Russia says it is pushing Kiev out of its border region of Kursk after an incursion last August.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Putin had informed Kim about the summit with Trump.
Putin and Trump will meet on Friday to discuss ways to end the nearly three-and-a-half-year-old war between Russia and Ukraine.
The talks will be the first face-to-face meeting between sitting Russian and US presidents since June 2021, when Putin met with then-US President Joe Biden in Geneva.
