Zürcher Nachrichten - North Korea's Kim offers Russia full support on Ukraine in Lavrov talks

Lavrov's visit to North Korea was the latest in a series of high-profile trips by top Moscow officials as both countries deepen military and political ties amid Russia's offensive against Kyiv.

Pyongyang sent thousands of troops to Russia's Kursk region to oust Ukrainian forces and has also provided the Russian army with artillery shells and missiles.

Kim and Lavrov met on Saturday in "an atmosphere full of warm comradely trust", North Korea's official KCNA news agency reported.

Russia's foreign ministry posted a video on Telegram of the two men shaking hands and greeting each other with a hug.

It said the talks were held in Wonsan, a city on North Korea's east coast where a massive resort was opened earlier this month -- one of leader Kim's pet projects.

Kim told Lavrov that Pyongyang was "ready to unconditionally support and encourage all the measures taken by the Russian leadership as regards the tackling of the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis", KCNA said.

The North Korean leader also expressed a "firm belief that the Russian army and people would surely win victory in accomplishing the sacred cause of defending the dignity and basic interests of the country".

He lauded Putin's "outstanding leadership", the report said.

The two men otherwise discussed "important matters for faithfully implementing the agreements made at the historic DPRK-Russia summit talks in June 2024", KCNA said, referring to North Korea by its official name.

Lavrov told Kim that Putin "hopes for continued direct contacts in the very near future", according to the Russian state-owned news agency TASS.

He left Pyongyang and landed in Beijing on Sunday to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Foreign Ministers' Council, Russia's TASS news agency reported on its Telegram account.

-Invincible alliance-

Ahead of Lavrov's recent visit, Russia announced that it would begin twice-a-week flights between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Lavrov lauded Wonsan as "a good tourist attraction", adding: "We hope it will be popular not only with local citizens, but also with Russians."

KCNA also issued a statement on Sunday on the meeting between Lavrov and his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui, held a day earlier in the coastal city, saying that bilateral ties were becoming an "invincible alliance".

Moscow "expressed its firm support for the DPRK side in its just efforts for defending the security of the state" during the meeting, KCNA said.

In return, Choe demonstrated "full sympathy and support for all the measures taken by the Russian government to remove the root cause of the Ukrainian conflict".

TASS earlier reported that Lavrov thanked the "heroic" North Korean soldiers who have been deployed to aid Russia during the ministerial meeting.

Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, Seoul has said.

North Korea only confirmed it had deployed troops to support Russia's war in April, and admitted its soldiers had been killed in combat.

Both sides "emphasised their determination to jointly counter the hegemonic aspirations of extra-regional players, which are leading to escalating tensions in Northeast Asia and throughout the Asia-Pacific region", Russia's foreign ministry said.

The two heavily sanctioned nations signed a military deal last year, including a mutual defence clause, during a rare visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang.

N.Fischer--NZN