Moscow attaches great importance to strengthening friendly ties with Pyongyang — Putin

PYONGYANG, June 19. /TASS/. Russia attaches great importance to strengthening friendly ties with North Korea, both countries are interested in further development of cooperation through various ministries, agencies and public organizations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“We attach paramount importance to strengthening traditional friendly and good-neighborly Russian-Korean relations, which are based on the glorious traditions of common history,” he noted. “Our countries are sincerely interested in further active development of cooperation, which is conducted both through the leadership of economic departments, parliaments, law enforcement, security and foreign policy structures, as well as between public organizations and citizens,” Putin added.
He recalled that the two states are linked by common history. Thus, according to the Russian president, the Soviet Union played a key role in liberating North Korea from Japanese colonial rule, and this year marks the 75th anniversary of the DPRK’s first international treaty. “It was a treaty with our country,” Putin emphasized.
“We supported the Korean people during its war of liberation in 1950-1953 as well, established peaceful life, helped in the restoration of the national economy,” the Russian leader continued, noting that in the following decades Russia and North Korea “have accumulated an impressive experience of mutual partnership in various fields.”