Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Monday in Moscow with North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui amid growing Western concerns about North Korean troops reportedly joining Russian forces in the war against Ukraine.
Footage of the meeting, as reported by Reuters, shows Putin and Choe shaking hands for an entire minute upon greeting each other.
Putin noted that their meeting took place on Russia’s National Unity Day, while Choe conveyed “sincere, warm, comradely greetings” from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The United States claims that North Korea has sent approximately 10,000 troops to Russia, with 8,000 deployed in the western Kursk region, where Russia is still fighting to repel Ukrainian forces that entered in August. Ukraine reports that its forces have already encountered North Korean troops in Kursk. Ukrainian President Zelensky announced yesterday that the first North Korean casualties had been recorded.
Putin hosted North Korea’s Foreign Minister at the Kremlin, who expressed appreciation and delivered “warmest regards” from Kim Jong Un. pic.twitter.com/E6M96Hw2pn
— Victory For Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@UA_news_feed) November 4, 2024
Putin, who signed a strategic partnership agreement with Kim Jong Un in June, pledging mutual assistance in case of an attack on either nation, neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops. He stated that Russia is free to apply the pact as it deems appropriate. Reuters reported that Putin briefly alluded to the military situation in Kursk earlier on Monday during a meeting with young volunteers.
“When the enemy is cleared from the region, there will be much work for you to do,” he told them.
In Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha stated that he spoke with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock about the “need for decisive action” in response to North Korea’s involvement in the war in Ukraine. He stated that North Korean troops are waging an “aggressive war in Europe against a sovereign European state.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Kyiv’s allies last week to stop “merely watching” and to “take action” regarding the presence of North Korean troops in Russia before clashes escalate.
➕Rusya Devlet Başkanı Putin, Kuzey Kore Dışişleri Bakanı Choe Son Hui ile Kremlin’de Görüştü pic.twitter.com/6SZet0dayG
— Fokus+ (@fokusplusnet) November 4, 2024
On Monday, the United States accused Russia and China in the United Nations Security Council of “shamelessly protecting” and encouraging North Korea to continue violating UN sanctions.
In Seoul, South Korea and the European Union jointly condemned North Korea’s “illegal transfer of weapons to the Russian Federation for use in attacks on Ukraine” and demanded that Pyongyang withdraw its troops. The U.S. and South Korea allege that Pyongyang has delivered ballistic missiles, anti-tank rockets, and millions of rounds of ammunition for Russia’s use against Ukraine. Russia and North Korea have denied these arms transfers.
Reuters reports that Choe has been in Russia for a week, arriving last Tuesday at the port of Vladivostok in the Russian Far East on her second visit in six weeks.
Last Friday, Choe told her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that their nations share an “unbreakable military comradeship” and that North Korea will stand with Russia “until the day of victory” in Ukraine.
The Kremlin stated last week that there were no plans for Putin to meet with Choe.
Reuters adds that Putin marked Russia’s National Unity Day on Monday by laying red roses at the monument to national heroes Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky in Moscow’s Red Square, honoring the leaders who raised an army to liberate Moscow from a brief Polish-Lithuanian occupation in the early 17th century.
According to Reuters, Putin also met with children of Russian soldiers who died in Ukraine and embraced a girl who lost her father.
“Russia relies on people like your father,” Putin told the girl, Reuters reported.
