SEOUL, June 12 — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has voiced his willingness to build closer strategic ties with Russia in his congratulatory message to President Vladimir Putin over Moscow's key national holiday, state media said Monday.
In the message sent on the occasion of Russia Day, Kim said friendly relations between the North and Russia are a "precious strategic asset" and his country will make efforts to ceaselessly develop such cooperative ties, Yonhap news agency cited the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Russia Day is celebrated on June 12 to mark the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1990.
The North's leader affirmed his willingness to strive for closer strategic cooperation between the country and Russia, the KCNA said in an English-language dispatch.
Kim's message appeared to reaffirm the North's support of Russia in its war with Ukraine.
The North has been strengthening its close ties with Russia despite international condemnation over the war, amid allegations that Pyongyang has provided arms to Moscow for use in the war.
— Bernama
