North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reaffirmed his unconditional support for all of Russia's actions in its war against Ukraine as he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the North's state media reported Sunday.
Kim made the remarks in a meeting with Lavrov on Saturday, a day after the Russian minister flew to North Korea for his second round of strategic talks with his North Korean counterpart, Yonhap news agency reported quoting Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
During the talks, Kim and Lavrov discussed the faithful implementation of the agreements reached during Kim's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang in June last year, as well as ways to further develop the two countries' strategic partnership, the KCNA said.
Kim "reaffirmed that the DPRK is ready to unconditionally support and encourage all the measures taken by the Russian leadership as regards the tackling of the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis" in line with the North Korea-Russia mutual defense treaty, the KCNA said.
DPRK refers to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The KCNA also quoted Kim as saying that "the two countries share the same views on all strategic issues in conformity with the level of (their) alliance and it shows the high strategic level established between the two countries."
Lavrov praised the strategic communication between the two countries in diplomatic fields, expressing his intention to "further strengthen the strategic and tactical cooperation and intensify concerted action ... in the international arena," according to the report.
The meeting reaffirmed the determination of the North Korean and Russian leaderships to "closely support and cooperate with each other in the journey for thoroughly safeguarding the core interests of the two countries (and) powerfully promoting the overall development of bilateral ties" under their comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, the KCNA said.
The KCNA also reported that Lavrov conveyed Putin's "warm greetings" to Kim, who reciprocated with thanks and his own friendly greetings to the Russian president. An earlier Russian news report on the Kim-Lavrov meeting said that the Russian minister delivered Putin's message expressing hope for direct contact with Kim in the very near future.
Meanwhile, the KCNA carried a statement from the strategic dialogue held the previous day between North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and Lavrov. The statement reaffirmed the two countries' "unwavering" commitment to advancing North Korea-Russia relations into long-term strategic ties by faithfully implementing the mutual treaty.
In the statement, Russia expressed "firm opposition" to any arbitrary attempts to deny North Korea's "current status," voicing unwavering support for Pyongyang's efforts to defend its national security and sovereign rights, while North Korea expressed unconditional support for all Russian actions in its war against Ukraine.
"It has been confirmed that the two sides' assessments of the current complex international situation are identical," the statement said, pledging joint efforts to strengthen strategic communication and coordinate their shared stance.
Aboard a private jet, Lavrov arrived in North Korea's eastern coastal city of Wonsan on Friday for a three-day trip through Sunday. Both of his meetings with Kim and Choe took place at the newly opened Kalma beach resort area in Wonsan.