A new fundamental document that will form the basis of the Russia-North Korea relationship for years to come has been prepared, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the start of the talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on Wednesday.
"As a result of your visit to Russia last year, we made significant progress in building our interstate ties of today. Today, a new fundamental document which will form the basis of our relations for the long term has been prepared," the Russian president said.
Putin called the achievements of previous generations a good basis for the development of relations between Russia and North Korea, saying that the relations between the two countries were established "under severe challenges."
In turn, Kim Jong Un said that Russia-North Korea relations were entering a period of prosperity.
"Relations between our countries are entering a new period of abundance, which cannot be compared even with the period of Korean-Soviet relations of the last century," Kim said.
The North Korean leader also expressed confidence that "the ardent friendship of the two countries will be strengthening as a monolith" during Putin's visit to Pyongyang.
Furthermore, Putin expressed hope that the next meeting of the two leaders will take place in Moscow.
"I am very glad about our new meeting, [I] hope the next one will take place in Russia, in Moscow," the Russian president told the North Korean leader, thanking him for the invitation to come to Pyongyang.
Putin also expressed confidence that their talks in Pyongyang on Wednesday will be productive.
The Russian president said both Russian and North Korean heads of the governments and relevant agencies are actively working to implement the agreements reached during the North Korean leader's visits to Russia in 2019 and 2023, adding that a Russian-Korean intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific, and technical cooperation was held in Pyongyang in November 2023 and that a meeting of the co-chairs of the intergovernmental commission took place in Moscow in March 2024.
Aside from that, the two leaders also discussed the "hegemonic" behavior of Western countries. Putin said that Russia is fighting against imperialist policies that have been imposed by the United States for decades.
"I mean our fight against the hegemonic policy that has been being imposed for decades, the imperialist policy of the United States and satellites against the Russian Federation," Putin said.
The Russian head of state also noted that his country appreciated the support of North Korea for Russia's policy, including in the Ukrainian direction.
"[We] highly appreciate your consistent and unwavering support for Russian policy, including in the Ukrainian direction," the Russian president told the meeting.
The talks between Putin and Kim Jong Un, which included members of the Russian and North Korean delegations, lasted for over 1.5 hours. The meeting was held behind closed doors and is expected to continue with a tete-a-tete between the two leaders.
A number of important documents are expected to be signed during the Russian president's visit to North Korea. The negotiation agenda includes security, energy, economic, and transport issues.