North Korea announces possible visit of Vladimir Putin

North Korea said that "the closest friend of the Korean people" Vladimir Putin is likely to visit them. This was reported by the Korean Central Telegraphic Agency.

The report said that the head of the DPRK Foreign Ministry, Choi Son Hui, was on an official visit to Russia from 15 to 17 January. There, she met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. At the same time, Putin thanked her for inviting him to Pyongyang and said he was preparing to visit North Korea as soon as possible.

It is also reported that during the visit, Choi Seong and Kremlin officials discussed measures to fulfil the agreements reached at the summit last September and the states' bilateral cooperation in the near future.

Both Moscow and Pyongyang said their relationship resembles a "fortress and locomotive" and agreed that they are the ones "defending global peace and security."

Also, both sides said the allegedly provocative actions of the US and its allies threaten the DPRK's security.

We would like to point out that the DPRK remains Russia's ally in the war against Ukraine and regularly sends weapons to Russia, including missiles used by the Russians to bomb Ukrainian territory.