Seoul: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss military issues and the regional security environment, state media said on Thursday, illustrating North Korea’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine as the isolated country celebrated the 70th anniversary of an armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim and Shoigu talked Wednesday in the capital, Pyongyang, and
reached a consensus on unspecified “matters of mutual concern in the field of
national defense and security and on the regional and international security environment.” During the meeting, Shoigu conveyed to Kim a “warm and good letter” signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, KCNA said.
The report did not specify the military matters that were discussed. North Korea has been aligning with Russia over the war in
Ukraine, insisting that the “hegemonic policy” of the US-led West forced Moscow to take military action to protect its security
interests.