North Korean leader vows to 'fully support' Russia as Putin hails 'special' ties
Iran Press TV
Thursday, 04 September 2025 6:10 PM
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un has expressed readiness to "fully support" Russia, while Russian President Vladimir Putin called ties between the two countries "special".
In a two-and-a-half-hour meeting in Beijing, Kim described his support for Russia as a "fraternal duty," vowing to do "everything I can to assist" Moscow, North Korea's official news agency KCNA reported Thursday.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of a celebration marking 80 years since China's victory over Japan during World War II, discussing in detail long-term plans for partnership and reaffirming their "steadfast will" to elevate bilateral relations to a higher level.
"Comrade Kim Jong-un and President Putin exchanged candid opinions on important international and regional issues," KCNA said.
Putin "highly praised" North Korean soldiers fighting against Ukraine and emphasized that the two countries' relations are "special ones of trust, friendship, and alliance".
Putin also invited Kim to visit Russia, the report said.
In their first formal sit-down in six years, Kim also held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday, according to Chinese state media.
Xi, Putin, and Kim took center stage at China's military parade — the first such gathering of the three countries' leaders since the early days of the Cold War.
China hosted the parade following the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, attended by dozens of heads of state and government, including from Iran, India, Turkey, Vietnam, Malaysia, Pakistan, Belarus, Serbia, and Slovakia.
The countries form the face of an emerging bloc of countries determined to push back against Western hegemony and alter the global balance of power, particularly as US President Donald Trump upends American alliances and wages a trade war.
Last year, Putin and Kim signed a mutual defense treaty, pledging that each side would come to the other's aid in the event of an armed conflict.
In July, Kim met with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov in North Korea's eastern coastal city of Wonsan, where the two sides held their second strategic dialogue and pledged further cooperation under the aforementioned partnership treaty.
The unprecedented gathering of the world's emerging powers, along with China's display of its most advanced weaponry — including long-range intercontinental missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads — has intimidated Western policymakers, with Trump accusing the attendees of conspiracy.
"Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against the United States of America," Trump said on Wednesday, to which the Kremlin later dismissed the claims, asserting that "no one even had this in their thoughts."
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