Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, sent a congratulatory message to Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, who secured his fifth term on the 18th.
Korean Central News Agency stated on the same day, "Comrade Kim Jong Un sent congratulations on the 18th to Comrade Putin, who was re-elected in the Russian presidential election."
It added, "The congratulatory message to Comrade Putin will be delivered to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Sin Hong Chol, our country's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Russia."
President Putin ran as an independent candidate in the presidential election held from the 15th to the 17th, securing 87.32% of the vote (with 95.08% of ballots counted), confirming his fifth term.
Accordingly, President Putin will serve a fifth term in office for six years until 2030.
The fact that Chairman Kim sent a congratulatory message immediately after President Putin's election is interpreted as a sign of his attention to North Korea-Russia relations.
Last month, President Putin gifted Chairman Kim a luxury car called "Aurus," known as the "Russian Rolls-Royce," and Chairman Kim has been using this vehicle at public events, indicating closer ties between the two countries.
On the other hand, North Korea continued provocations by launching several projectiles presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea from the Sangwon area in North Hwanghae Province around 7:44 a.m. on the same day, targeting South Korea and the United States.
North Korea had temporarily halted provocations considering the Russian presidential election and the Chinese Two Sessions, but appears to have resumed military provocations after about a month, coinciding with the opening of the Democracy Summit held in Seoul on this day.
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