North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged Moscow’s “full support” to Pyongyang in a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, state media reported. This “congratulatory message” was sent to the President of Russia on the occasion of the National Day of Russia, one of Pyongyang’s few allied countries.
The statement, released by North Korea’s KCNA news agency, makes no explicit mention of the invasion of Ukraine or Moscow’s involvement in an armed conflict, instead praising the “good decision and leadership of Mr. Putin.” […] to counter the growing threat from enemy forces.
“Defend the sacred cause of upholding sovereign rights”
The North Korean people offer “full support and solidarity to the Russian people in their tireless struggle in defense of the sacred cause of safeguarding their country’s sovereign rights, development and interests against the arbitrary and authoritarian practices of the imperialists.” North Korea has called the conflict a US “proxy war” aimed at destroying Russia and has condemned Western military aid to Kiev.
In January, Washington accused North Korea of supplying rockets and missiles to the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, which Pyongyang denied. Washington then claimed in March it had evidence that Moscow was expecting arms from Pyongyang for its offensive in Ukraine in exchange for food aid to North Korea, whose economy and agriculture were in shambles.
As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Russia has long vetoed new sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear program and repeated missile launches.