Putin Celebrates Soviet Victory with North Korean Officers Amid Growing Alliance

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed a group of North Korean officers after overseeing a military parade that celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War II.

This Victory Day event occurred just a week after Putin expressed gratitude to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for dispatching troops to assist Russian forces in the Kursk region, which marked the first official acknowledgment of their deployment.

Putin was overheard expressing his appreciation to the North Korean delegates during the ceremony at Red Square, saying, «Thank you very much to all your fighters, your heroes. Best wishes.»

He was also observed embracing a North Korean lieutenant general who was decorated with military honors.

During the Victory Day parade, servicemen from 13 «friendly nations» were present alongside Russian military personnel, but no North Korean soldiers participated in the event. Kim Jong Un was notably absent from the gathering, where more than twenty foreign leaders were in attendance.

North Korean state media reported that Kim visited the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang to offer his congratulations, emphasizing a strong «invincible alliance» between the two nations. He was quoted as stating, «Pyongyang and Moscow will always be united.»

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, political, military, and cultural relations between Russia and North Korea have strengthened significantly.

In January, Japanese media reported unnamed Russian sources indicating that North Korean troops were anticipated to take part in World War II commemorations in Russia for the first time.

Last November, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov officially invited North Korean military personnel to join the commemorative events during his visit to Pyongyang.