North Korea and Russia appear likely to seek deepened cooperation, with top officials expressing hopes to build on developments seen this year.
On Saturday, the North’s official newspaper Rodong Sinmun carried Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev’s New Year message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in which the Russian politician expressed hopes for “new possibilities” in bilateral ties with North Korea.
In his message, Medvedev, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, described 2025 as a year that “consolidated the steady development of relations between the two countries, which have risen to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership.”
The disclosure of the letter, dated Dec. 20, followed the publishing of Kim’s letter to Putin earlier in the day.
In his message, Kim described North Korea-Russia ties as a precious asset and marked 2025 as a "meaningful" year in which Pyongyang and Moscow bolstered their alliance through mutual support.
In the message, Kim said that North Korea-Russia relations were consolidated into “the truest form of alliance” and that the strength of the alliance was “etched into the pages of history.”
Since signing the treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2024, North Korea and Russia have shown increasing cooperation, including the North providing military supplies and personnel to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.
sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com
