Putin sends 'brotherly regard' to North Korea's Kim Jong-un in chilling warning to West

Vladimir Putin met North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui on Monday (Image: Getty)

Russian President Vladimir Putin met North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at the Kremlin on Monday in an effort to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. According to the North Korean state media KCNA, "many future projects to constantly strengthen and develop" the bilateral relationship were discussed during the meeting. Choe also sent North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's "brotherly regard" to Putin.

Choe also held talks with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, expressing support for Russian measures to "remove the root of the Ukraine conflict". In return, Russia supported North Korean efforts to protect its security interests and sovereign rights, KCNA has reported. The meeting comes amid rising international concerns about the collaboration between the two totalitarian regimes. Pyongyang is supplying Moscow with soldiers and artillery for its war in Ukraine in exchange for military technology assistance from Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Image: Getty)

Russia and North Korea, both heavily impacted by Western sanctions, have considerably strengthened their relationship in recent years. In 2024, they signed a defence agreement pledging mutual military support should either nation face "aggression", Al Jazeera reports. Since then, North Korea has sent around 10,000 troops to join Russia's war against Ukraine, at least 600 of whom have died in combat, according to estimates from Seoul and Kyiv.

Putin last met Kim in person on 3 September in Beijing, where the leaders held official talks following a military parade hosted by China's President Xi Jinping. At the time, Putin commended North Korean soldiers for fighting "courageously and heroically" in the war in Ukraine. After the meeting, US President Donald Trump claimed they were conspiring against the US, which was dismissed by the Kremlin.

In April, Putin publicly acknowledged the role of the "heroic" North Koreans who fought alongside his army. North Korea also acknowledged the deployment and, for the first time since its founding in 1948, admitted to losing soldiers on foreign soil.

North Korea was one of only five UN countries to vote against condemning Russia's offensive on Ukraine in 2022 and has expressed support for Moscow's territorial claims over five southern and eastern Ukrainian regions.