Putin praises North Korea for supporting war in Ukraine en route to rare visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea for supporting his actions in Ukraine and said their countries will co-operate closely to overcome U.S.-led sanctions, as he headed to Pyongyang on Tuesday for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Putin's comments appeared in an op-ed piece in North Korean state media hours before he was expected to arrive for a two-day visit as the countries deepen their alignment in the face of separate, intensifying confrontations with Washington.

Putin, who will be making his first trip to North Korea since his first year as Russian president in 2000, said he highly appreciates its firm support of his invasion of Ukraine. He said the countries would continue to "resolutely oppose" what he described as Western ambitions "to hinder the establishment of a multipolarized world order based on mutual respect for justice."

Putin also said Russia and North Korea will develop trade and payment systems "that are not controlled by the West" and jointly oppose sanctions against the countries, which he described as "unilateral and illegal restrictive measures."

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Putin said the countries will also expand co-operation in tourism, culture and education.

North Korea is under heavy UN Security Council economic sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile programs, while Russia is also grappling with sanctions by the United States and its Western partners over its aggression in Ukraine.

Putin has limited his foreign travel since sending troops in to invade Ukraine in 2022, a decision that led to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. After North Korea, Putin will visit Vietnam, which is also not a signatory to the jurisdiction of the ICC.

Putin's visit comes amid growing concerns about an arms arrangement in which Pyongyang provides Moscow with badly needed munitions to fuel Russia's war in Ukraine in exchange for economic assistance and technology transfers that would enhance the threat posed by Kim's nuclear weapons and missile program.

In Pyongyang, streets were decorated with Putin's portraits and Russian flags. A banner hung on a building said: "We warmly welcome the President of the Russian Federation."

John Kirby, spokesperson of the U.S. National Security Council, said the deepening relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang is concerning, "not just because of the impacts it's going to have on the Ukrainian people, because we know North Korean ballistic missiles are still being used to hit Ukrainian targets, but because there could be some reciprocity here that could affect security on the Korean Peninsula."

"We haven't seen the parameters of all of that right now, certainly haven't seen it come to fruition. But we're certainly going to be watching that very, very closely," he said.

Military, economic and other exchanges between North Korea and Russia have sharply increased since Kim visited Russia in September for a meeting with Putin, their first since 2019.

U.S. and South Korean officials have accused the North of providing Russia with artillery, missiles and other military equipment to help prolong the war in Ukraine, possibly in return for key military technologies and aid. Both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied accusations about North Korean weapons transfers.