Putin confident constructive Russia-North Korea cooperation will continue

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed confidence that constructive cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang on bilateral and international issues will continue. Putin made the remarks in a congratulatory message to North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong Un on Korea’s National Liberation Day, observed annually on 15 August. “I am confident that we will continue constructive cooperation on pressing issues on the bilateral and international agenda for the well-being of the peoples of Russia and Korea, and in the interests of building a fairer and truly democratic world order,” the telegram read, as published on the Kremlin’s official website on Saturday. Putin also wished the North Korean leader health and success, and happiness and prosperity for all citizens of the country. Putin said the holiday symbolises the courage and resilience of Korean fighters and Red Army soldiers who fought together for the country’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule. It was during that difficult period, Putin continued, that traditions of battlefield fraternity and solid mutual assistance began to form, later becoming the foundation for friendly and harmonious relations between Russia and North Korea. “Dear Kim Jong Un, please accept my sincere congratulations on the anniversary of Korea’s National Liberation Day and North Korea’s national holiday,” the telegram read. Korea’s National Liberation Day is observed on 15 August in North Korea to commemorate the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.