North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered Moscow his “unconditional support” on the war in Ukraine, according to Pyongyang state media reports.

In talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in North Korea, Kim said that Pyongyang stood by “all the measures taken by the Russian leadership” to tackle the “root cause of the Ukrainian crisis”.

Western officials believe Pyongyang has sent an estimated 11,000 troops to Russia over the last year to fight against Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

According to North Korean state media KCNA news agency, Kim and Lavrov met on Saturday in “an atmosphere full of warm comradely trust”.

The North Korean leader also expressed a “firm belief that the Russian army and people would surely win victory in accomplishing the sacred cause of defending the dignity and basic interests of the country”.

On Telegram, Russia’s foreign ministry posted a video showing the two men shaking hands and greeting each other with a hug.

Lavrov also met with his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui and thanked the “heroic” North Korean soldiers deployed to aid Russia, Russia’s TASS news agency reported.

North Korea’s renewed military support for Russia comes as US President Donald Trump has resumed military supplies to Ukraine, after a brief hiatus.

Trump told NBC News on Thursday that he had made a deal with Nato for the US to send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine via the alliance, after a surge of Russian aerial attacks.

Pyongyang first publicly acknowledged sending troops to Russia in April, months after Ukraine and the West revealed the large-scale troop movement from North Korea to the Russian-Ukrainian frontline.

Kim signed an accord with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in June last year, agreeing to support each other if either country was dealing with “aggression”.

Apart from soldiers, North Korea also promised to send thousands of workers to help rebuild Russia’s war-torn Kursk region, Moscow’s security chief said last month.

Source: BBC

- Agencies