Before the start of the summit, Vladimir Putin was welcomed, Wednesday June 19, with great fanfare by Kim Jong-un, all smiles, on the main square of Pyongyang, decorated on this occasion by a panel with huge portraits of the two leaders , according to a video published by the Kremlin.
It is in this context that the Russian president declared to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “appreciating the support” of Russian policy by North Korea, on the occasion of this bilateral meeting, reported the agencies of Russian press. “We very much appreciate your systematic and permanent support of Russian policy, including on the Ukrainian issue,” declared Vladimir Putin, quoted by the agencies, at the start of his meeting with Kim Jong-un.
A new “fundamental document”
He praised the cooperation between the two countries “which is based on the principles of equality and mutual respect of interests” and announced that “a “new fundamental document” governing bilateral relations “in the long term” was “ready”. According to the Kremlin, this includes a “comprehensive strategic partnership” agreement, which, if signed, will be conditioned by “the profound evolution of the geopolitical situation in the world”.
“Russia and North Korea have been linked for several decades by a strong friendship and close neighborhood,” recalled the Russian president.
“A fiery friendship”
Relations between Russia and North Korea are entering a “new era of prosperity”, assured Kim Jong-un, promising the strengthening of the “spirited friendship” between the two countries. “Relations between our countries are entering a new era of new and great prosperity that cannot be compared even with that of the period of Soviet-Korean relations of the last century,” the North Korean leader said, according to his remarks. translated into Russian and quoted by Russian news agencies.
“The government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea appreciates the important mission and the role of a strong Russia in maintaining stability and balance in the world,” said Kim Jong-un, assuring “fully supports ” the military operation launched by Russia in Ukraine in February 2022. North Korea “will further strengthen its strategic communication with Russia and the Russian authorities” in the face of a situation which is “getting complicated” in the world, he said. -he adds.
Putin invites Kim to Russia
“I am very happy to meet you again,” said Vladimir Putin, who hosted Kim Jong-un twice in the Russian Far East, in April 2019 and September 2023. “I hope that the next meeting will take place in Russia, in Moscow,” he added.