Russian president and North Korean leader meet in Beijing and attend military parade commemorating end of World War II
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un discussed long-term plans for cooperation during their talks in Beijing, with Kim pledging "full" support to Moscow, the North's state media reported Thursday.
The two leaders met on Wednesday in Beijing, where they attended a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Kim and Putin "discussed in detail long-term plans for cooperation between the two countries and reaffirmed their steadfast will to continue to lead bilateral relations to a high level," North Korean’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported.
The parade served as a maiden multilateral diplomatic stage for Kim by standing alongside Xi and Putin
Putin said Russia will "always remember" the sacrifices made by North Korean troops deployed for Moscow's war with Ukraine.
Stressing that North Korea considers it a "fraternal duty" to provide assistance to Moscow, Kim said his country will "fully" support Russia's efforts to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
It was the fourth bilateral summit between the two leaders after Putin and Kim signed a comprehensive strategic partnership last year in Pyongyang requiring either side to extend military support in case of an attack by third party.
Kim pledged to implement the inter-state treaty in "full faith," saying he sees aiding Russia as a "fraternal duty in the future, too."
North Korea has sent around 15,000 troops and weapons to support Russia's war efforts since last October, according to South Korea's spy agency.
It claimed Pyongyang lost some 2,000 troops in the Ukraine war.
According to the Kremlin, during the Beijing meeting Putin said North Korea deployed the soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region against Ukrainian troops at Kim’s initiative.
The statement marks the first time the Russian president revealed the involvement of North Korean troops in the Ukraine war was at Kim's initiative.
“On your initiative, as is well known, your special forces took part in the liberation of the Kursk region, in full accordance with our new agreement,” Putin said, lauding North Korean soldiers as having fought “courageously and heroically.”
- 'All traces of Kim removed'
A video emerged after the meeting showing the chair used by Kim being thoroughly cleaned by his aides.
The two met at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, which was used by Putin during his stay in Beijing.
According to Kremlin pool reporter Alexander Yunashev, the staff accompanying Kim "carefully destroyed all traces of Kim's presence."
The video was taken after the two leaders had left the room and proceeded to tea.
Kim's staff "took away the glass from which he drank, wiped the upholstery of the chair and those parts of the furniture that the Korean leader touched," Yunashev wrote on his Telegram channel where he also shared the video.
Besides their meeting, which included their accompanying staff, Putin and Kim later held a one-on-one meeting in Beijing.
