Russia Ukraine war update: Kyiv strikes Russia ‘with kamikaze drones’ as Putin’s troops suffer in Kharkiv

North Korea is under heavy UN Security Council economic sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile programs, while Russia is also grappling with sanctions by the United States and its Western partners over its aggression in Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin said the countries will also expand cooperation in tourism, culture and education.

The visit comes amid growing concerns about an arms arrangement in which Pyongyang provides Moscow with badly needed munitions to fuel Mr Putin’s war in Ukraine in exchange for economic assistance and technology transfers that would enhance the threat posed by Kim Jong Un’s nuclear weapons and missile program.

Military, economic and other exchanges between North Korea and Russia have sharply increased since Mr Kim visited the Russian Far East in September for a meeting with Mr Putin, their first since 2019.

US and South Korean officials have accused the North of providing Russia with artillery, missiles and other military equipment to help prolong its fighting in Ukraine, possibly in return for key military technologies and aid.

Russian president Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea for supporting his actions in Ukraine and said their countries will co-operate closely to overcome US-led sanctions as he headed to Pyongyang for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Mr Putin’s comments appeared in North Korean state media hours before he was expected to arrive for a two-day visit as the countries deepen their alignment in the face of separate, intensifying confrontations with Washington.

Mr Putin, who will be making his first visit to North Korea in 24 years, said he highly appreciates its firm support of his invasion of Ukraine.

He said the countries would continue to “resolutely oppose” what he described as Western ambitions “to hinder the establishment of a multipolarised world order based on mutual respect for justice”.

Mr Putin also said Russia and North Korea will develop unspecified trade and payment systems “that are not controlled by the West” and jointly oppose sanctions against the countries, which he described as “unilateral and illegal restrictive measures”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea this week for the first time in 24 years, the two countries said, a rare trip that underscores Moscow’s burgeoning partnership with the nuclear-armed state.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un extended an invitation to Putin during a visit to Russia’s Far East last September. Putin last visited Pyongyang in July 2000.

“At the invitation of the Chairman of State Affairs of the DPRK, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin will pay a friendly state visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on June 18-19,” the Kremlin said.

North Korea’s state news agency KCNA also announced the visit but offered no further details.

A Russian missile attack on Ukraine‘s east-central Poltava region on Monday injured 12 people, including two children, and damaged power lines, knocking out electricity for more than 55,000 consumers, a regional governor said.

According to preliminary information, there were no fatalities, Filip Pronin said in a video address from the site posted on Telegram. Several high-rise buildings were damaged, he said. Smoke rising from damaged garages could be seen in the background, while rescuers attempted to extinguish fires. Pronin said later that due to damage to power lines, some 53,000 private and 2,400 industrial consumers faced electricity cuts. Earlier, Ukraine‘s air force announced a missile alert for the region.