Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would “fully support” Russia’s army as a “fraternal duty”, and Russian President Vladimir Putin called the two countries’ ties “special”, state media KCNA reported on Thursday.
Kim and Putin held a meeting on Wednesday on the sidelines of China’s celebrations to mark the formal surrender of Japan in World War Two in Beijing.
The pair flanked Chinese President Xi Jinping at a massive military parade for the first such gathering of the three countries’ leaders since the early days of the Cold War.
Kim’s Beijing trip offered his first-ever chance to meet Putin and Xi together, as well as mingle with the more than two dozen other national leaders who attended the events.
Analysts view his unprecedented gathering on Wednesday with Xi and Putin as a major propaganda win for the reclusive state’s leader.
State media photos showed Kim standing or walking with Putin and Xi side by side with a smile, and state newspaper Rodong Sinmun’s Thursday edition predominantly featured Kim’s visit.
Kim’s whereabouts remain unclear on Thursday.
“Comrade Kim Jong Un and President Putin exchanged candid opinions on important international and regional issues,” KCNA said.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
