On the eve of finding US President Donald Trump, Alaska, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, talked by telephone on Tuesday (12) with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to reinforce military and political cooperation between the two regimes.
According to Kremlin, Putin updated Kim about the preparation of the meeting with Trump and reaffirmed the “commitment to the development of friendship, good neighborhood and cooperation” between Moscow and Pyongyang.
During the connection, Putin thanked North Korean military support to Russia in the war against Ukraine, praising “bravery, heroism and the spirit of sacrifice shown by the Korean’s popular army staff” in the so-called “liberation” of the Russian region of Kursk, according to the state agency report KCNA. According to South Korean intelligence, more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers have already been sent to fight alongside the Russian troops, and a new contingent would be prepared.
The conversation between the two leaders took place amid recent Russian military advances in eastern Ukraine. Moscow registered a sudden offensive in the Donetsk region, winning about 10 kilometers around the city of Dobropillya in a few days. The movement increases the pressure on Kiev, which continues to reject any assignment of territory – position reiterated by President Volodymyr Zelensky before the meeting between Trump and Putin.
The alliance between Russia and North Korea has deepened since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022, marked by diplomatic isolation and economic sanctions against Moscow. In addition to troops, Pyongyang provided missiles, artillery projectiles and workers to Russia, supplying the lack of labor caused by the crears on the front and the escape of Russian citizens to avoid recruitment.
Putin and Trump will meet on Friday (15) in Alaska, at the first face-to-face meeting between leaders of both countries in four years. The war in Ukraine and global security issues are expected to dominate the agenda, with Kremlin already signaling that seeks safety guarantees and a ceasefire that preserves territories currently under Russian control.
