North Korean Leader Describes Alliance with Russia as “Sharing Life and Death”
North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, emphasizing the close friendship and strategic partnership between the two countries.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to the country`s news agency KCNA.
In the letter, Kim Jong Un congratulated Putin on the upcoming New Year 2026 and extended his sincerest wishes for health, success, and prosperity to the Russian people.
He described 2025 as a “really meaningful year” year for DPRK-Russia relations, noting that “the two countries steadily wrote a great biography of the alliance in the new era through full mutual support and selfless encouragement”.
“Along with the past days of 2025, the DPRK-Russia relations have been further consolidated into the sincerest alliance of sharing blood, life and death in the same trench,” the statement follows, emphasising that this alliance and its mightiness have been more vividly etched in the pages of the times and history.
Kim Jong Un stressed that the friendship and alliance between the two peoples are unbreakable, and their unity is a “precious common asset” to be preserved for generations. He also noted that DPRK-Russia relations have been tested by history and remain “invincible and mighty.”
The North Korean leader affirmed that he, the DPRK government, and the entire Korean people will always stand with Russia and its people. He wished President Putin success in defending Russia’s dignity and interests in the new year.
On the same day, a letter from Dmitry Medvedev, President of the United Russia Party, addressed to Kim Jong Un, was published. In it, Medvedev congratulated the North Korean leader on the upcoming New Year and warmly recalled the visit of the Russian delegation to Pyongyang in October to participate in the 80th anniversary celebrations of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
He emphasizing the significance of their productive meetings and expressed hope for the development of strong, mutually beneficial relations that would provide "new possibilities for carrying out the reciprocal initiatives and joint undertakings for the well-being of our peoples."
Recent reports indicate a deepening of military and strategic cooperation between Russia and North Korea. Researchers have found that Russian state-linked cyber group Gamaredon and North Korea’s Lazarus group are sharing resources and infrastructure to conduct cyberattacks, highlighting a new axis of cyber cooperation that poses growing threats to international security.
In addition, Russia planed to employ around 12,000 North Korean workers in Tatarstan to produce long-range drones used against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, some of whom are involved in infrastructure and mine clearance work near the border with Ukraine, effectively providing military support to Moscow.
Together, these developments underscore the increasingly close military and operational ties between the two states in their ongoing campaign against Ukraine.
As The Gaze reported earlier, North Korea has begun construction of a museum in Pyongyang dedicated to its soldiers who fought alongside Russia against Ukraine, glorifying their actions as heroic deeds outside the country.
Read more on The Gaze: Kremlin’s Foreign Legion: North Korea’s Role in Russia’s War and the New Global Divide