Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
Putin gifted North Korea with more than 70 zoo animals
Russian President Vladimir Putin has gifted North Korea's main zoo with more than 70 animals, including a lion and two brown bears, in a further demonstration of budding relations between Moscow and Pyongyang.
Putin's Environment Minister, Alexander Kozlov, brought the animals to the North Korean capital aboard a cargo plane, Kozlov's office announced on his official Telegram channel on Wednesday.
The shipment of animals from Moscow also included two yaks, five cockatoos and dozens of pheasants as well as mandarin ducks, Kozlov's office said.
The gift comes weeks after the United States and South Korea revealed that North Korea had sent thousands of troops to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine.
See: Putin offers zoo animals to North Korea
In Pyongyang, Russia's environment minister also paid a courtesy visit to Kim.
This is not the first time in recent memory that Russia has sent animals to North Korea.
Earlier this year, Putin gave North Korean leader Kim Jong Un 24 purebred horses, apparently as a thank you for artillery shells supplied by North Korea.
Putin and Kim have strengthened their alliance in recent months as both countries face sanctions from the West.
Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
The shipment of animals from Moscow also included two yaks, five cockatoos and dozens of pheasants of different species and mandarin ducks.
