Pyongyang: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has expressed "firm support and solidarity" for Russia in his congratulatory message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who began his fifth term as the Kremlin leader on Tuesday, on the occasion of Victory Day, as reported by state news agency KCNA. The occasion marks the 79th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany at the end of the Second World War.
The message of solidarity comes as Russia's relations with the West are spiralling deeper into crisis over the advance of Russian troops against Ukraine's Western-backed forces. North Korea's relations with the United States have also worsened due to deepening military relations between Washington and its arch-rival South Korea.
"I express firm support and solidarity with the sacred cause of Russia, hoping that you and the brave Russian army and people would win fresh victory in the struggle to defeat the imperialists' hegemonic policy and high-handedness by dint of a powerful country and build a fair and peaceful multi-polar world," Kim said in his letter to Putin.
Russia-North Korea military cooperation
The US and others have accused North Korea of transferring weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine, which it invaded in February 2022, in exchange for shipments of food, energy and modern weapons technologies. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the accusations, but vowed last year to deepen military relations.
In January, intelligence officials from the United Nations alleged that Russia has acquired ballistic missiles from North Korea and is now seeking the same weapons from Iran as Moscow struggles to replenish supplies for its war against Ukraine, according to the White House. Last month, UN sanctions monitors told the Security Council that Russia used a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile in Kharkiv on January 2.
In the 32-page report, the UN sanctions monitors concluded that "debris recovered from a missile that landed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on 2 January 2024 derives from a DPRK Hwasong-11 series missile" and is in violation of the arms embargo on North Korea. The UN monitors said the Hwasong-11 series ballistic missiles were first publicly tested by Pyongyang in 2019.
The Hwasong missiles have a range of about 550 miles (885 kilometres). The US believes that North Korea wants Russia to provide it with aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armoured vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment and other advanced technologies, in exchange for its weapons that have attracted US sanctions.
Russia is already facing international sanctions and export controls over the Ukraine conflict, which has caused Putin to seek weapons from other sanctioned countries like North Korea and Iran. An arms deal with Pyongyang will complicate efforts of a peaceful resolution proposed repeatedly by other countries.
Putin's inauguration
The 71-year-old Russian leader took oath in a flamboyant inauguration at the Kremlin on Tuesday to begin his fifth term, after tightening his grip on power by launching a devastating war in Ukraine and destroying his political opponents. As Russia's tensions with Western countries are at an all-time high over the Ukraine conflict, several of these countries have opted to skip the high-profile inauguration.
Already in office for nearly a quarter-century and the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin, Putin's new term doesn't expire until 2030, when he is constitutionally eligible to run for another six years. Putin is widely credited for transforming Russia from a country emerging from economic collapse to a pariah state that threatens global security.
Two years after he launched the invasion in Ukraine, Russian forces are gaining ground in Ukraine, deploying scorched-earth tactics as Kyiv grapples with shortages of men and ammunition. Both sides are taking heavy casualties. In a speech in February, Putin vowed to fulfill Moscow's goals in Ukraine, and do what is needed to “defend our sovereignty and security of our citizens.”
(with inputs from Reuters)
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