North Korean leader Kim reaffirms support for Russia in Ukraine conflict, KCNA says

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns government has pledged to send about 6,000 military engineers and builders to help reconstruction work in Russia’s Kursk region.

PHOTO: REUTERS

SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told Russia’s top diplomat his country was ready to “unconditionally support” all actions taken by Moscow to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, state media reported on July 13, as the two countries held high-level strategic talks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is on a three-day visit to North Korea, which has provided troops and arms for Russia’s war with Ukraine and pledged more military support as Moscow tries to make advances in the conflict.

Mr Kim met Mr Lavrov in the eastern coastal city of Wonsan where the two countries’ foreign ministers held their second strategic dialogue, pledging further cooperation under a partnership treaty signed last year that includes a mutual defense pact.

Mr Kim told Mr Lavrov the steps taken by the allies in response to radically evolving global geopolitics will contribute greatly to securing peace and security around the world, North Korea’s state news agency KCNA reported.

“Kim Jong Un reaffirmed the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) is ready to unconditionally support and encourage all the measures taken by the Russian leadership as regards the tackling of the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis,” KCNA said.

Mr Lavrov earlier held talks with his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui in Wonsan, and they issued a joint