Putin, in a letter to Kim on Korea’s Liberation Day, marking the end of 35 years of Imperial Japanese rule on the peninsula, said closer ties between Russia and North Korea would serve the interests of both countries and help to enhancing “security and stability. in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia as a whole. Kim also sent a letter to Mr Putin, predicting that ties between their countries would deepen based on an agreement signed in 2019 when the two authoritarian leaders met in Russia. “Strategic and tactical cooperation, support and solidarity” between North Korea and Russia have increased through the countries’ joint efforts against threats and provocations from hostile military forces, Kim said in the letter, according to the KCNA news agency. Pyongyang has stockpiled weapons for decades, leading some analysts to believe it could become a source of armaments for Russia as its invasion of Ukraine continues. Russian state media reported earlier this month that North Korea, which last month became the first country to recognize two pro-Kremlin separatist states in Donbas, offered Moscow 100,000 “volunteer” troops to fight Ukraine. However, there doesn’t seem to be any progress on this offer.
