North Korea's Kim sends Putin birthday message, reaffirms alliance
In short
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a congratulatory message to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his birthday on Oct. 7, calling him “my closest friend” and reaffirming the alliance between the two countries. Kim said valuing the comprehensive strategic partnership and expanding joint projects is the North Korean government's firm policy and “my unchanging choice,” and repeated his support for Russia. North Korean state media published the message; Dong-A Ilbo said it ran on the front page of the Rodong Sinmun and marked Putin's 74th birthday.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a congratulatory message to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his birthday on Oct. 7, reaffirming the alliance between the two countries. Yonhap and SBS News quoted the Korean Central News Agency as reporting the message, while Dong-A Ilbo said it ran on the front page of the Rodong Sinmun and marked Putin's 74th birthday. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
In the message, Kim called Putin “my closest friend” and said, “I am pleased to have formed an excellent friendship with you and to be opening a new chapter in the development of relations between our two countries.” He wrote that valuing the comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance with the “fraternal Russian Federation” and steadily expanding joint undertakings is “the unshakable policy of the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and also my own unchanging choice,” according to the documents. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Kim also repeated his backing for Russia, saying, “I firmly believe that the Russian people's just cause to defend the country's sovereignty, security interests and territorial integrity will certainly conclude in victory, and I reaffirm my unchanging support for you and the Russian Federation.” He added that over the past 20-plus years Russia had strengthened its dignity and status as a great power and created “a new turning point of century-scale development” under Putin's leadership, and closed the message with “dear comrade, warm embraces.” [ 1 , 3 ]
The documents state that North Korea and Russia signed a treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership at their June 2024 summit, and that from October that year North Korea sent combat troops and engineers to the Ukraine war, drawing the two countries close as a “blood alliance.” The documents report no new commitments in the birthday message beyond the reaffirmation of that partnership, and none of them include a Russian response. [ 1 , 3 ]
Newsis carried a headline matching the event, but its article text concerned an unrelated financial-sector hacking story and attack IP addresses, not the message to Putin. [ 2 ]
Why it matters
The message restates the North Korea-Russia alignment that, according to the documents, has included North Korean combat troops and engineers sent to the Ukraine war since October 2024. Sending it publicly through state media keeps the partnership visible at a time when both sides describe it as an alliance. The documents report no new commitments beyond the reaffirmation of existing positions.
Key facts
- Kim Jong Un sent a birthday congratulatory message to Vladimir Putin dated Oct. 7. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Kim addressed Putin as “my closest friend” and closed with “dear comrade, warm embraces.” [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Kim said valuing the comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance with Russia, and steadily expanding joint undertakings, is the North Korean government's firm policy and his own unchanging choice. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Kim reaffirmed support for Russia and said he is confident that the Russian people's “just cause” to defend sovereignty, security interests and territorial integrity will end in victory. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Kim said that over the past 20-plus years Russia has strengthened its dignity and status as a great power under Putin's leadership. [ 1 , 3 ]
- North Korea and Russia signed a treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership at their June 2024 summit, and from October that year North Korea sent combat troops and engineers to the Ukraine war, the documents say. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo said the message marked Putin's 74th birthday and was published on the front page of the Rodong Sinmun. [ 4 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Kim Jong Un sent a birthday message to Putin on Oct. 7 reaffirming the North Korea-Russia alliance. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Kim called Putin his closest friend and said the partnership is his unchanging choice. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Kim reiterated support for Russia and confidence in the Russian people's cause. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The two countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty at a June 2024 summit and North Korea sent combat troops and engineers to the Ukraine war from October 2024. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Which North Korean outlet first carried the message. Yonhap and SBS attribute it to the Korean Central News Agency, while Dong-A Ilbo says the Rodong Sinmun published it on its front page with no mention of KCNA; the documents do not reconcile the two.
- Russia's response to the message. No Russian reaction or statement appears in any of the documents.
- The content of the Newsis article body. Newsis's headline matches this event, but its article text is about financial-sector hacking and attack IP addresses and does not cover the message.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Yonhap publishes its report on Kim's congratulatory message to Putin, citing the Korean Central News Agency. [ 1 ]
- Newsis publishes a report with the same headline on the message. [ 2 ]
- SBS News publishes its report quoting the message. [ 3 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo publishes its report saying the message marked Putin's 74th birthday and ran on the Rodong Sinmun's front page. [ 4 ]