By Eniola Amadu
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pledged to “fully support” Russia’s military campaign as part of a “fraternal duty,” state media KCNA reported on Thursday.
Kim made the pledge during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of commemorations in Beijing marking the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in the Second World War.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also attended, creating a striking image of the three leaders standing together at a vast military parade — their first such gathering since the early Cold War era.
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For Kim, the Beijing trip provided his first opportunity to meet Putin and Xi in the same setting.
Analysts said the rare photo opportunities, which showed Kim smiling and walking alongside the two powerful leaders, amounted to a significant propaganda victory for Pyongyang.
KCNA reported that Kim and Putin “exchanged candid opinions on important international and regional issues.”
Putin praised North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine and described relations between the two countries as “special ones of trust, friendship and alliance.”
According to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, Pyongyang has already sent artillery shells, missiles, and thousands of troops to support Moscow’s war.
The agency estimated that some 2,000 North Korean soldiers deployed to Ukraine had been killed and believed Pyongyang planned to send another 6,000 personnel, including about 1,000 combat troops already on Russian soil.
The two leaders also reviewed the 2024 mutual defence treaty between their countries, which obliges each to provide support if the other comes under armed attack. KCNA said both reaffirmed their “steadfast will” to elevate the partnership to a higher level.
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Observers noted that Kim’s stringent security protocols were again on display. His aides were seen wiping down a chair and side table after he used them — a measure widely interpreted as part of efforts to shield details about his health, even from allies.
While Kim’s next steps remain unclear, the Beijing meeting underscored his attempt to position North Korea as a crucial partner to Moscow and Beijing in an increasingly polarised global order.
