TOKYO, August 15./TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have exchanged telegrams of congratulations over the 76th anniversary of Korea’s liberation, marked on the same day as the surrender of Japan in WWII, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Sunday.

The Kremlin press service has not reported about such a telegram. According to KCNA, President Putin emphasized in his message that traditions of friendship, steeled during the war years, remain a reliable basis for the development of relations between Russia and the DPRK. KCNA quoted the Russian leader as expressing confidence that the implementation of the 2019 Vladivostok summit agreements would help to further strengthen cooperation and ensure stability on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia in general.

"The Korean people remember with deep emotion the soldiers of the Red Army who gave their lives for the sacred mission of liberating Korea," Kim Jong-un said in his telegram. He also stressed that friendship between the DPRK and Russia would continue despite the historical challenges.