North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un sent a congratulatory message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to visit North Korea later this month, on the occasion of Russia's national holiday.
On the 11th, the Korean Central News Agency reported that Chairman Kim sent the congratulatory message to President Putin ahead of Russia's national holiday, "Russia Day" (June 12), through North Korean Ambassador to Russia Shin Hong-chul, who "politely" delivered it to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Russia Day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty by the Russian Republic within the Soviet Union on June 12, 1990.
Chairman Kim has sent congratulatory messages to President Putin every year on Russia Day. However, unlike previous years when the Korean Central News Agency simply published the full text of the congratulatory message on the day without any explanation, this time the report detailed the fact that Chairman Kim sent the message and described the diplomatic channels through which it was delivered. The full text of the message was not included.
Amid speculation about President Putin's possible visit to North Korea later this month, the congratulatory message is interpreted as an effort to highlight the relationship between North Korea and Russia. According to major Russian media outlets, President Putin is expected to visit North Korea and Vietnam as early as this month. If President Putin visits North Korea, it will be the first visit in 24 years since July 2000, when Kim Jong-il, then Chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea, was in power. Chairman Kim met President Putin last year during his visit to Russia's Far East.
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