The North Korean leader expressed hope that Moscow could defeat “neo-Nazism and achieve a great victory in Ukraine.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid tribute to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his New Year’s address, praising the deepening ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, state media reported.

Kim Jong Un sent greetings to his “dearest friend and comrade” Putin, the Russian people and Russian military personnel in a New Year’s letter, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Tuesday.

KCNA said Kim Jong-un wished Putin “greater success in his responsible and arduous state leadership activities, and wished the Russian people prosperity, well-being and happiness.”

Kim Jong-un said that after KCNA’s “meaningful journey” in 2024, he is also willing to “design and advance new projects involving Pyongyang and Moscow” and expressed the hope that Russia can defeat “neo-Nazism and achieve a great victory.” Ukraine.

Putin claimed without evidence that he invaded Ukraine in 2022 to protect Russian-speaking people from a “neo-Nazi dictatorship.”

Relations between North Korea and Russia have strengthened significantly since the war began.

In June, Kim and Putin signed a mutual defense agreement during the Russian leader’s first visit to North Korea in nearly a quarter of a century.

Pyongyang has since sent more than 10,000 troops to assist Russian troops in Ukraine, according to South Korean and Ukrainian officials.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this month that his troops had killed or wounded more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service estimates North Korean casualties at about 100 dead and 1,000 wounded.