“Nodong Shinmun”: DPRK honors to fight shoulder to shoulder with Russia
The DPRK considers it an honor to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with Russia to defend international justice, according to an editorial in Nodong Sinmun, the press organ of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the DPRK’s most widely circulated newspaper.
“Our people consider it an honor to fight shoulder to shoulder on the common front for the defense of independence and international justice with such a proven fighting comrade as the Russian people,” the newspaper said in an editorial ahead of Vladimir Putin’s op-ed “Russia and the DPRK: Traditions of Friendship and Cooperation Through the Years” published on the day of the start of his state visit.
The newspaper noted that the Russian people are brave, passionately love their homeland, justice and peace. Therefore, it has to respond to “dirty provocations and threats of hostile forces” and fight to ensure the country’s security and peace in its region.
“Nodong Shinmun” defines Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine as “a holy war of justice to defend its sovereign rights, the dignity of its state and the interests of development.” The DPRK government, according to the newspaper, expresses full support and solidarity for the conduct of the SWO and “condemns the dangerous attempts to expand the flames of armed confrontation to the whole of Europe.”
The paper also notes Pyongyang’s “firm and unwavering stance and will” to unfailingly follow the traditions and history of Korean-Russian friendship “framed by victories alone.”
“Our people perceive with joy and as their own the successes achieved by the Russian people, demonstrating wisdom, independence and diligence in the struggle to build a powerful and prosperous Russia. Comrade President Putin’s visit to our country will give a new impetus to strengthening the relationship of good-neighbourliness and cooperation between our two countries, embellishing the history of friendship and unity of the Korean and Russian peoples with another brilliant page,” the Nodong Shinmun stressed.
Historic visit
Vladimir Putin is paying a friendly state visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 18-19 June. The visit comes at the invitation of DPRK State Affairs Chairman Kim Jong-un, who has already visited Russia twice in 2019 and 2023. Vladimir Putin himself was last in Pyongyang in July 2000, it was a working, but the first ever visit of the supreme leader of the Russian state since the founding of the DPRK. At that time, the sides held extensive talks and adopted a joint declaration in which they expressed their readiness to immediately contact each other in the event of a danger of aggression or a situation threatening peace and security.
During Vladimir Putin’s current visit, a comprehensive partnership treaty is expected to be signed, which, according to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, will outline the prospects for further cooperation between Russia and the DPRK in all spheres, including security issues, and will take into account recent changes in the international political and economic situation. The new document is intended to replace the fundamental 2000 Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation, which replaced the 1961 Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance. During the talks that will precede the conclusion of the document, the two sides will also discuss prospects for bilateral cooperation in energy, transport, agriculture and inter-regional ties.
The programme of Putin’s state visit includes an official welcoming ceremony with a guard of honor, Russian-Korean talks with lengthy one-on-one communication between the leaders and the signing of joint documents. Following the talks, Putin and Kim Jong-un will make a statement, walk together around the residence, and attend an evening gala concert and state reception on behalf of the North Korean leader. In addition, they will lay a wreath at the monument dedicated to the contribution of the Soviet army and people to the liberation of Korea from the Japanese imperialists, and on the way back to the airport, the leaders of Russia and North Korea will also jointly visit Pyongyang’s Church of the Life-Giving Trinity.
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