Russian media confirmed that the two leaders held closed-door talks lasting more than an hour and a half. The Kremlin announced today (Wednesday) that the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un discussed Pyongyang’s support for the Russian army with supplies.

According to the Russian news agency TASS, Kim said that providing all possible assistance to Russia is a brotherly duty for North Korea, noting that relations between the two countries are developing in all fields.

The North Korean president affirmed that cooperation between his country and Russia has become stronger since the 2024 treaty.

For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin explained that the North Korean army participated in liberating Russia’s Kursk region at the initiative of Kim Jong Un, stressing: “North Korean soldiers fought bravely and heroically in the Kursk region, and our country will never forget that.”

Television footage showed the two leaders sitting side by side, speaking through translators. Putin, sitting next to Kim, said: “Your special forces participated in liberating the Kursk region,” emphasizing that Russia and North Korea are fighting together against neo-Nazism.

The relationship between Putin and Kim has strengthened since the Russian-Ukrainian war, after the North Korean leader sent soldiers to fight alongside Moscow on the front lines.

The meeting came after a massive military parade in Beijing commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II at Tiananmen Square.