Kim Jong Un: Military ties with Russia will 'advance without interruption'

(Patria) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stated that the military brotherhood between his country and Russia will "advance without interruption", the state agency KCNA reported this morning, as reported by Reuters.

Kim said this during a speech at the groundbreaking ceremony for a monument to North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Russian troops in Russia's Kursk region during Moscow's ongoing war with Ukraine, KCNA announced.
"Years of militant brotherhood, which guaranteed the long-term development of bilateral friendship at the cost of precious blood, will advance without interruption," Kim said, according to KCNA. The challenges of "domination and tyranny" cannot hinder the ties between the two countries, he added.

This event was the latest public tribute to North Korean troops who fought in Russia to repel the invasion of Ukrainian forces.
Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a mutual defense pact. North Korea has sent soldiers, artillery ammunition, and missiles to Russia to support the invasion of Ukraine.

Kyiv and Seoul estimate that North Korea has deployed more than 10,000 soldiers in the war in exchange for economic and military-technical assistance from Russia.

The South Korean intelligence agency estimated in September that about 2,000 North Korean soldiers were killed in the fighting.

Putin remained defiant on Thursday after US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on two of Russia's largest oil companies to pressure the Kremlin leader to end the war.

Trump will visit South Korea, North Korea's bitter rival, next week.