North Korea’s Kim reiterated his desire for closer ties with Russia

Kim’s message came in a greeting to Putin in connection with North Korea celebrating 79 years since the Korean Peninsula was liberated from the Japanese colonial rule that lasted from 1910 to 1945, the state-run North Korean news agency KCNA reported on Friday.

The greeting was a response to Putin’s congratulations on the liberation the day before, in which he referred to the bond created when Soviet soldiers fought against Japan. The Soviet Union declared war on Japan right on the eve of the Second World War and launched offensives in Manchuria and North Korea, among others.

– The friendly feelings that were created between the two countries’ armies and people in the bloody battle against a common enemy is a strong driving force for developing friendly relations and cooperation into comprehensive strategic partnerships and an invincible camaraderie, was the response from Pyongyang.

North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung – the grandfather of today’s Kim – received help from the Soviet Union and Josef Stalin, who supported Kim’s communist forces that established North Korea after liberation.

During the liberation commemoration, the leader of the day visited the memorial for the revolutionary Korean forces who fought against Japanese supremacy. He also visited the Liberation Tower where the soldiers of the Soviet Union’s Red Army are commemorated, reports KCNA.