SEOUL, April 25. /TASS/. Russia and North Korea strengthen mutual support in combatting external military threats and ensuring security and peace, a North Korean Foreign Ministry representative said.
In a statement published on the Foreign Ministry’s website, Vice Foreign Minister Im Chon-il recalled that this day marked "the fourth anniversary of the visit to Vladivostok" of Kim Jong Un, President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Today, following the long tradition of shoulder-to-shoulder struggle against the common enemy, the two countries (Russia and North Korea - TASS) are strengthening mutual support and solidarity in the struggle to resolutely smash the dangers of war and military threats from the outside; to safeguard the country’s security, dignity and peace; and to realize international justice," the senior diplomat said.
"We wish the Russian government and people successes in defending the country’s legal security and interests and in attaining the goal of building a powerful and prosperous state, resolutely fighting against the hegemony, arbitrariness and military threats of the hostile forces," Im Chon-il pointed out.
The diplomat called the 2019 Russia-North Korea summit "historic." According to him, it led to the blossoming of bilateral relations, as during the talks the leaders of the two countries reached important agreements on mutual exchange and cooperation in many areas. The senior diplomat pointed out that even "unfavourable and restrictive conditions for mutual contacts and exchanges", that is, the COVID-19 pandemic, did not stumble the countries’ rapprochement.
"It is the invariable stand of the DPRK government to elevate the long-standing and traditional relations of friendship between the DPRK and Russia, from the strategic point of view and as required by the era," Im Chon-il concluded.