North Korean senior official met Russian President Putin, KCNA says

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SEOUL (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with a senior North Korean official in Moscow on Thursday, North Korea’s state news agency said on Saturday.

Putin met in the Kremlin with Ri Hi Yong, a Politburo member and secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) as well as the chairman of the Central Inspection Commission of the WPK.

Putin expressed his gratitude for North Korea’s active support of Russia, KCNA reported, demonstrating the strengthening cooperation between the two countries.

“He highly appreciated once again the historic meaning of 2024 in which the traditional Russia-DPRK friendly relations were remarkably developed into the comprehensive strategic partnership,” KCNA said.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

North Korea has deployed thousands of troops to support Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian, U.S. and South Korean assessments.

The “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty” agreed by the leaders of North Korea and Russia came into force in December with the exchange of “ratification instruments” in Moscow.

The treaty was signed during Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June and a summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, and includes a mutual defence pact for immediate military assistance if either faces armed aggression.

(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Josh Smith; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Muralikumar Anantharaman)