North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a birthday message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him his “closest comrade.”
Kim, congratulating Putin on his 72nd birthday, added that relations between the two countries would be taken to a new level.
Relations between Pyongyang and Moscow have deepened since the start of the war in Ukraine, worrying the West.
Separately, Kim said Tuesday that Pyongyang would accelerate steps to make his country a nuclear-armed military superpower.
According to Yonhap News, citing North Korean state media KCNA, Kim praised relations between the two countries, saying they had become “invincible and eternal” since Putin's visit to Pyongyang in June.
“The meetings and bonds of camaraderie between us… will make a positive contribution to consolidating the eternal foundations of friendship between the DPRK and Russia,” he added, referring to South Korea. North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Relations between North Korea and Russia go back decades – to Stalin and Kim Il-sung, the present-day Kim's grandfather. The Soviet Union supported North Korea in its early days with weapons and technology, and Pyongyang never wanted to rely entirely on China – which it does not fully trust.
Earlier this year, Putin and Kim signed an agreement pledging to assist each other in the event of “aggression” against either country – although it was unclear what would constitute aggression .
Kim has been accused of helping Russia in the war against Ukraine by providing it with weapons in exchange for economic and technological assistance.
There is growing evidence that Russia is deploying North Korean missiles in Ukraine.
For Putin, the relationship is probably more tactical than strategic. He needs support for his war in Ukraine and North Korea will certainly be willing to sell him whatever munitions he is willing to pay for.
Jeffrey Lewis, director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said earlier that Kim and Putin were “trying to reduce the pain of international sanctions by creating an alternative network of friends and partners beyond the reach of sanctions American”.
North Korea can certainly benefit enormously from access to Russian military technology – which, despite Russia's problems, is still far more advanced than North Korean systems developed through reverse engineering.
North Korea seeks above all to perfect its nuclear and ballistic arsenal. It has made very surprising progress over the past decade in the production of new missile systems and the miniaturization of its nuclear devices.
But Russia has much more advanced designs for thermonuclear warheads, re-entry vehicles, and solid-state rocket engines.
During a visit by Kim to Russia in September 2023, Putin promised to help North Korea develop its satellites, after several failed launches by Pyongyang.
A South Korean lawmaker also claimed Tuesday that the South Korean military had detected apparent signs that North Korea had begun building a possible nuclear-powered submarine.
Citing Korea's intelligence agency, Rep. Kang Dae-sik said construction was still in its early stages and “further confirmations are needed on whether it is powered by nuclear energy.”
