The North Korean leader said he hoped Russia would ‘achieve a great victory over neo-Nazism’ in Ukraine.
State media reported that North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un paid tribute to Russian President Vladimir Putin and praised the deepening of North Korea-Russia relations in his New Year’s address.
In a personal letter to mark the New Year, Chairman Kim conveyed greetings to the Russian people and Russian military personnel to President Putin, his “most beloved friend and comrade,” the Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday.
Chairman Kim wished President Putin “greater success in responsible and heavy national leadership activities and the prosperity, well-being, and happiness of the Russian people,” according to the Korean Central News Agency.
Chairman Kim expressed his intention to “design and promote new projects” after the “meaningful journey” between North Korea and Moscow in 2024 and expressed hope that Russia will achieve “a great victory by defeating neo-Nazism” in Ukraine.
Putin has claimed without evidence that the 2022 invasion of Ukraine was necessary to protect Russian speakers from a “neo-Nazi dictatorship.”
North Korea and Russia have greatly strengthened their relationship since the start of the war.
Last June, Kim and Putin signed a mutual defense agreement, with Putin visiting North Korea for the first time in nearly 25 years.
North Korea later dispatched more than 10,000 troops to Ukraine to support Russian forces, according to South Korean and Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this month that his troops had killed or wounded more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region.
The National Intelligence Service estimated the number of casualties in North Korea at about 100 dead and 1,000 injured.
