Russian president Vladimir Putin held a phone call with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to “reaffirm” their close relationship ahead of his summit with Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday.
Mr Putin and Mr Kim spoke on Tuesday, pledging “closer contact in the future” and discussing issues of mutual concern, according to North Korea’s state media, the Korean Central News Agency reported.
Their call comes as the Russian leader is set to meet Mr Trump on Friday in Alaska for the first time since the US president’s return to the White House to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine, a meeting that would be closely watched by world leaders.
During the phone call, Mr Putin discussed the preparations for the Alaska summit with Mr Trump, sharing "information in the context of the upcoming talks with US president Donald Trump," the Kremlin said.
However, the North Korean statement did not mention the discussion about Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s talks.
The two leaders "reaffirmed their commitment to the further development of friendship relations, good-neighbourliness and cooperation," the Kremlin said in a statement.
The Russian president “highly appreciated once again the support provided” by North Korea and the “the bravery, heroism and self-sacrificing spirit displayed by service personnel of the Korean People's Army in liberating Kursk” region in western Russia in the war against Ukraine, KCNA reported.
North Korea had sent around 15000 troops to fight in the war in Ukraine and supplied large quantities of military equipment, including artillery and ballistic missiles, in support of Putin’s war efforts against Ukraine, according to South Korean assessments.
Mr Kim has also agreed to send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to Russia’s Kursk region, a deployment South Korean intelligence believes could happen soon.
North Korea and Russia have strongly supported each other since Mr Putin launched his so-called special military operation in Ukraine in February 2021. The two economically and diplomatically isolated countries have since signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty to strengthen their military alliance.
Mr Putin made a trip to North Korea in June 2024, his first visit to the country in 24 years, when the two signed the treaty.
