Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un exchanged letters indicating stronger bilateral relations amid Moscows international isolation over its war in Ukraine, North Korean state media reported Monday.The letters follow Pyongyangs recognition of two Moscow-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and the countrys reported readiness to send workers to the breakaway regions to aid in their reconstruction.
Putin told Kim that Moscow and Pyongyang would continue to expand the comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations with common efforts, according to the state news agency KCNA.
Kim noted in his letter to Putin that Russian-North Korean strategic and tacticalcooperation has put on a new high stage in the common front for frustrating the hostile forces' military threat and provocation.
Pyongyang typically uses the term hostile forces to refer to the United States and its allies.Putins message on the anniversary of the end of Japans 1910-1945 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula marked as Liberation Day by North Korea contained similar language to the one he sent Kim last year.
In the 2021 letter, Putin expressed confidence that the sides would further promote mutually beneficial cooperation following Kims first Russia visit in 2019.
The Kremlin has not yet commented on Putins reported letter to Kim.
North Korea last month became the third state after Russia and Syria to officially recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples Republics, collectively referred to as the Donbas.Donetsk Peoples Republic leader Denis Pushilin hailed North Koreas recognition as a triumph of diplomacy for the breakaway region and expressed hope for active and fruitful cooperation with its newly acquired Asian partner.Russias Ambassador to Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora has said North Korean workers would be an asset in the serious task of restoring the destroyed social, infrastructural and industrial facilities in the Donbas during Russias invasion of Ukraine.