North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reaffirmed his support for Russia in the war against Ukraine, according to state media on Sunday.

Mr Kim met with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, on Saturday in the port city of Wonsan, state news agency KCNA, the government’s mouthpiece, reported.

Mr Kim told Mr Lavrov they “have the same views on all strategic issues” and 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.”

Moscow and Pyongyang signed a strategic partnership in 2024 during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea.

The agreement includes military assistance in the event that either of the two countries is attacked.

North Korea has supported the Russian war against Ukraine by supplying weapons and soldiers to Moscow.

North Korean soldiers have also been dispatched to the western Russian region of Kursk, in order to recapture parts of the region taken by Ukrainian troops.

According to estimates by the Ukrainian intelligence service, a total of around 14,000 soldiers from North Korea fought on this section of the front.

Ukraine has been warding off the full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022.

(dpa/NAN)