Kim Jong Un says he is proud of Russia ties, KCNA says

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told Russian President Vladimir Putin he was proud of their countries' ties, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday.

KCNA said Kim made the comment in a letter to Putin marking Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II. Kim said he expected a stronger future for relations between North Korea and Russia and expressed belief that Russia would defend its territorial integrity under Putin's leadership.

Putin, in a letter to Kim delivered on Friday, said relations between the two countries had reached an "unprecedentedly high level of comprehensive strategic partnership" and that they were cooperating in all sectors, according to the supplied text of his remarks.

North Korea has become a key ally of Moscow since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Analysts say Pyongyang has sent troops to support Russia's war effort in return for economic benefits and military technology.

Ukraine this month accused Moscow of launching North Korean ballistic missiles in a strike that killed at least nine people and wounded dozens. Kyiv has also said up to 50,000 North Korean troops are due to deploy to Russia, but it has provided no evidence or timeframe for that claim.