N Korea, Russia bound in ‘blood’ of war, Kim tells Putin in New Year note

North Korean, Russian leaders nonstop New Year’s greetings hailing their ‘precious’ shared acquisition of ‘blood, beingness and death’ successful Ukraine war.

North Korean person Kim Jong Un said that his country’s ties with Russia had been strengthened done “sharing blood, beingness and decease successful the aforesaid trench” successful the Ukraine war, arsenic helium sent a New Year’s greeting to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kim’s connection followed President Putin’s ain New Year’s greeting to the North Korean person connected December 18, which praised the “heroic” relation played by Pyongyang’s troops successful Russia’s occidental Kursk portion and “clearly proved the invincible friendship” betwixt the 2 countries, authorities media reported.

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In his connection to Putin, published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) connected Saturday, Kim said 2025 was a “really meaningful year” for bilateral ties, and called relations betwixt Moscow and Pyongyang a “precious communal plus to beryllium carried guardant everlastingly not lone successful the contiguous epoch but besides by posterity procreation aft generation”.

“Now nary 1 tin interruption the relations betwixt the peoples of the 2 countries and their unity,” Kim said, according to South Korea’s Yonhap quality agency.

South Korean and Western quality agencies accidental North Korea deployed thousands of troops to enactment Moscow successful its warfare against Ukraine.

Troops be a subject parade to people the 75th founding day of North Korea’s army, astatine Kim Il Sung Square successful Pyongyang, North Korea [File: KCNA via Reuters]

North Korea officially confirmed successful April that it had deployed troops to enactment Russia’s subject run against Ukraine and that its soldiers had been killed successful combat.

Earlier this month, Kim acknowledged that North Korean troops were sent to wide landmines successful Russia’s Kursk portion successful August 2025, pursuing a Ukrainian incursion, and that astatine slightest 9 soldiers from an engineering regiment were killed during the 120-day deployment.

Kim’s New Year connection to Putin was sent a time aft helium instructed his officials to increase rocket accumulation and physique much factories to nutrient munitions.

North Korea has besides stepped up rocket investigating successful caller years, which analysts accidental is aimed astatine improving the accuracy of its arsenal of short-, medium- and long-range rockets successful bid to deter what Kim sees arsenic threats from the United States and South Korea. Intensified investigating of weapons could besides beryllium linked to North Korea’s exports of subject instrumentality to Russia, the analysts say.

Alongside unit deployments, Pyongyang is believed to person supplied Moscow with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems, portion Russia has provided fiscal assistance, subject technology, and nutrient and vigor supplies to the North.