Yonhap News
North Korea held a banquet at its embassy in Russia to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the first summit between Kim Jong Un, the Supreme Leader of North Korea, and Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, in 2019.
The North Korean Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on the 29th that “around the 5th anniversary of Kim Jong Un’s historic visit to Russia, our embassy in Russia organized a banquet on the 26th.”
According to the newspaper, the banquet was attended by officials from various government organizations and institutions, including Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense, the National Assembly, and the Korean War Veterans’ Association. Ambassador Sin Hong Chul of North Korea to Russia and embassy officials attended the event.
Ivan Zhelokhovtsev, Director of the First Asian Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who attended the banquet, said in his speech, “The historic North Korean-Russian summit held in April 2019 not only laid the foundation for expanding and strengthening bilateral relations in various fields to meet the demands of the times, but was also an important opportunity to establish close, trustworthy, and direct relations between the leaders.”
He continued, “The agreements reached during Kim Jong Un’s visit to Russia demonstrate our two countries’ commitment to thoroughly inheriting and further enriching the valuable legacy left by previous generations,” and expressed special thanks to “Kim Jong Un and the entire Korean people for their absolute support for Russia.”
He highlighted, “Over the past five years, the traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries have risen to an unprecedented level, and based on the agreements reached during the highest-level meeting in September 2023, they continue to develop.”
The newspaper mentioned that participants at the banquet toasted Chairman Kim and President Putin’s health and wished to strengthen friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.
Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin held two summits, the first in April 2019 and the second in September last year. Since their second summit, the two leaders have maintained a close relationship and are expanding their cooperation in various fields, including military, cultural, and economic.
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