SEOUL(National times)- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has promised his country\u2019s full backing for Russia\u2019s war effort, calling it a \u201cfraternal duty\u201d, the country’s\u00a0state media KCNA reported on Thursday. The North Korean leader made the pledge during talks with President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, where both leaders attended a grand military parade alongside China\u2019s Xi Jinping. Kim and Putin held a meeting on Wednesday on the sidelines of China\u2019s celebrations to mark the formal surrender of Japan in World War Two in Beijing. The pair joined Chinese President Xi Jinping at a massive military parade, marking the first such gathering of the three countries\u2019 leaders since the early days of the Cold War. Kim\u2019s Beijing trip gave him his first chance to meet Putin and Xi together, as well as mingle with more than two dozen other national leaders who attended the events. State media photos showed Kim standing or walking with Putin and Xi side by side, smiling. \u201cComrade Kim Jong Un and President Putin exchanged candid opinions on important international and regional issues,\u201d KCNA said. Putin \u201chighly praised\u201d North Korean soldiers fighting against Ukraine and said relations between the two countries were \u201cspecial ones of trust, friendship and alliance\u201d, according to KCNA. North Korea has sent soldiers, artillery ammunition and missiles to Russia to support Moscow in its war against Ukraine. South Korea\u2019s intelligence agency estimated this week that some 2,000 North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia have been killed. It believes North Korea plans to send another 6,000 troops, with about 1,000 combat soldiers already in Russia. Kim and Putin discussed in detail their long-term partnership plans and reaffirmed their \u201csteadfast will\u201d to strengthen bilateral relations, KCNA said.Last year, the two leaders signed a mutual defence treaty, which calls for each side to assist the other in the event of an armed attack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SEOUL(National times)- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has promised his country\u2019s full backing for Russia\u2019s war effort, calling it a \u201cfraternal duty\u201d, the country’s\u00a0state media KCNA reported on Thursday. The North Korean leader made the pledge during talks with President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, where both leaders attended a grand military parade alongside China\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n