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State-run news wire KCNA said the relationship was “an engine for accelerating the building of a new multi-polar world,” and demonstrated “invincibility and durability”.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un greeted Putin at the airport in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and rode with him in a motorcade to his accommodation, KCNA reported.
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It said that on the journey the pair “exchanged their pent-up inmost thoughts and opened their minds” to how they could further develop their relationship.
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Wednesday’s agenda includes further one-on-one discussions between the two leaders, as well as a gala concert, state reception, honour guards, document signings and a statement to the media, Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov as saying.
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Ties between the neighbours have deepened since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Pyongyang believed to have provided weapons in return for food and energy aid as well as support with its space and missile programmes.
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Russia and North Korea have denied striking any agreement on weapons transfers during a trip by Kim to Russia last year.
“,”elementId”:”6ce67f5c-245f-4bac-9a4d-a1327c94293f”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1718757122000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”20.32 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1718757828000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”20.43 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1718757829000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”20.43 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”20.43″,”title”:”North Korean media calls Moscow-Pyongyang ties “powerful strategic fortress””,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tuesday, June 18, 2024 21:03 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First Published Tuesday, June 18, 2024 20:32 EDT”},{“id”:”66720e938f0852f94b43609d”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine and today’s visit by Vladimir Putin to North Korea, where he is expected to seek further military support.
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Relations between North Korea and Russia have “emerged as a strong strategic fortress” at a “crucial time”, North Korean state media has said as the Russian president arrived in Pyongyang for his first visit since 2000.
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Putin was greeted by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the early hours of Wednesday morning “in an exciting atmosphere”, KCNA news wire reported in typically flowery language. Kim then escorted Putin to his accommodation.
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Ties between the two countries have strengthened significantly since Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Kim believed to have supplied arms to Russia in return for food and energy aid and help with his country’s space programme.
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Here are the key developments:
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Putin praised North Korea for “firmly supporting” Moscow’s war in Ukraine, in an article published in the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling Workers’ party, on Tuesday. “We highly appreciate that [North Korea] “We firmly support Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine,” the Russian leader wrote.
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The Russian leader also praised Kim for ignoring U.N. Security Council sanctions, which Moscow until recently supported, and which were targeted at his regime’s nuclear ambitions.Putin wrote that North Korea had defended its interests “very effectively, despite decades of economic pressure, provocations, intimidation and military threats from the United States.”
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President Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un drive in a motorcade in Pyongyang.”,”caption”:”Russian President Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un drive in a motorcade in Pyongyang.”,”credit”:”Photo: Vladimir Smirnov/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/EPA”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
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The United States expressed concern that the visit could have implications for security in Ukraine and on the Korean peninsula, which has been rocked in recent days by friction along the heavily armed border that has separated the two Koreas since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. “We know that North Korean ballistic missiles are still being used to strike targets in Ukraine and there are potential interactions that could have implications for security on the Korean peninsula,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Putin’s visit showed his “dependence” on authoritarian leaders.“Their closest friend and biggest supporter of the Russian war effort. [are] “North Korea, Iran and China,” he said.
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A leader of the Kazka opposition party and a prominent blogger with over one million subscribers on YouTube has been seriously injured in an attempted assassination in Kiev. Aydos Sadykov, who was granted asylum in Ukraine in 2014, was shot near his home and taken to hospital in “serious condition,” his wife Natalia Sadykova said.
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Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on Tuesday that Ukrainian authorities have already started preparations for a second peace summit, after the first Ukrainian-led conference was held in Switzerland last weekend.More than 90 countries attended the summit hosted by Switzerland over the weekend, but Ukraine and its allies failed to persuade key non-aligned countries to back a final statement and no country offered to host a sequel.
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Ukraine said it had carried out drone attacks on oil facilities overnight. Rostov Region, Russia The latest long-range attack by Kiev’s forces into the border region sparked massive fires.
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Kiev on Tuesday accused Russian forces of beheading a Ukrainian soldier in the eastern Donetsk region, the latest accusation of abuses made by Ukrainian prosecutors against Moscow.“During an aerial reconnaissance mission in one of the combat positions in the Donetsk region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces discovered a damaged armored vehicle of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, containing the severed head of a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine said in a social media post.
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Important Events
Here are some of the best images to come through the wire so far from Putin’s visit to Pyongyang.
North Korean media has described relations between Moscow and Pyongyang as a “strong strategic fortress.”
North Korea hailed its ties with Moscow as a “strong strategic fortress” when Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in North Korea on an official visit – Putin’s first in nearly 25 years.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency said ties between the two countries were a “driving force accelerating the building of a new multipolar world” and had demonstrated “invincibility and durability.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un welcomed Putin at the airport early on Wednesday and accompanied him in a motorcade to his accommodation, the Korean Central News Agency reported.
During the trip, the pair “exchanged their most pent-up thoughts, opened up and discussed ways to further their relationship,” according to the report.
Wednesday’s agenda will include further one-on-one meetings between the two leaders, as well as a gala concert, a state reception, a salute to honours, document signings and media statements, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported, citing Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov.
Ties between the two countries have deepened since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with North Korea believed to have provided weapons in exchange for food, energy aid and support for its space and missile programs.
Russia and North Korea deny any agreement on arms transfers was reached during Kim Jong Un’s visit to Russia last year.
Summary at the beginning
Hello and welcome to The Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea, where he is expected to seek more military support.
During the Russian president’s first visit to Pyongyang since 2000, North Korean state media said North Korea-Russia relations had emerged as a strong strategic bastion “at a critical time.”
Putin was received by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an “exciting atmosphere” early on Wednesday morning. This was reported by the KCNA news agency. As always, the words were flowery. Afterwards, Kim Jong Un escorted Putin to his accommodation.
Relations between the two countries have strengthened significantly since Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Kim Jong Un believed to have supplied Russia with weapons in exchange for food and energy aid and cooperation with his country’s space program.
The main developments include:
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Putin North Korean leader Kim Jong Un praised Pyongyang for its “firm support” for Moscow’s war in Ukraine in an article published Tuesday in the ruling Workers’ Party’s newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun.“we, [North Korea] “We firmly support Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine,” the Russian leader wrote.
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The Russian leader also praised Kim for ignoring UN Security Council sanctions, which Moscow until recently supported, and which were targeted at his regime’s nuclear ambitions.Putin wrote that North Korea had defended its interests “very effectively, despite decades of economic pressure, provocations, intimidation and military threats from the United States.”
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The United States expressed concern that the visit could have implications for security in Ukraine and on the Korean peninsula, which has been rocked in recent days by friction along the heavily armed border that has separated the two Koreas since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. “We know that North Korean ballistic missiles are still being used to strike targets in Ukraine and there are potential interactions that could have implications for security on the Korean peninsula,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Putin’s visit showed his “dependence” on authoritarian leaders.“Their closest friend and biggest supporter of the Russian war effort. [are] “North Korea, Iran and China,” he said.
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A leader of the Kazka opposition party and a prominent blogger with over one million subscribers on YouTube has been seriously injured in an attempted assassination in Kiev. Aydos Sadykov, who was granted asylum in Ukraine in 2014, was shot near his home and taken to hospital in “serious condition,” his wife Natalia Sadykova said.
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Ukrainian officials have already begun preparations for the second peace summit after the first Ukrainian-led conference was held in Switzerland last weekend, Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, said on Tuesday.More than 90 countries took part in the summit hosted by Switzerland over the weekend, but Ukraine and its allies failed to convince key non-aligned countries to join in on the final communique, and no country offered to host a sequel.
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Ukraine said it had carried out drone attacks on oil facilities overnight. Rostov Region, Russia The latest long-range attack by Kiev’s forces into the border region sparked massive fires.
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Kiev on Tuesday accused Russian forces of beheading a Ukrainian soldier in the eastern Donetsk region, the latest accusation of abuses made by Ukrainian prosecutors against Moscow.“During an aerial reconnaissance mission in one of the combat positions in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian forces discovered a damaged armored vehicle of the Armed Forces of Ukraine containing the severed head of a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine said in a social media post.
