SEOUL: Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov met with North Korean chief Kim Jong Un and agreed to spice up army cooperation between the 2 remoted nations, Pyongyang state media stated Saturday (Nov 30).
America and South Korea have accused the nuclear-armed North of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine, with specialists saying Kim is raring to realize superior know-how, and battle expertise for his troops, in return.
Kim, who met Belousov on Friday, blasted the current choice by Western powers to allow Kyiv to strike inside Russia with their weapons, saying it constituted a “direct army intervention within the battle”, in response to KCNA.
“It’s an train of the best to self-defence for Russia to take resolute motion to make the hostile forces pay the worth,” Kim was quoted as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim signed a strategic partnership treaty in June that obligates each states to offer army help “at once” within the case of an assault on the opposite and collectively oppose Western sanctions.
KCNA stated Saturday that Belousov’s go to “would enormously contribute to bolstering up the defence capabilities of the 2 nations and … selling the pleasant, mutual cooperation and improvement of the relations between the 2 armies”.
Belousov, in a press release, expressed gratitude for the 2 nations’ deep bonds and praised North Korea’s “completely impartial international coverage”.