{"id":555,"date":"2025-09-03T13:36:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T13:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/kim-jong-un-support-moscow-putin\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T13:36:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T13:36:12","slug":"kim-jong-un-support-moscow-putin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/kim-jong-un-support-moscow-putin\/","title":{"rendered":"Kim Jong-un pledges to assist Moscow after meeting with Putin in Beijing"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<p><time datetime=\"2025-09-03\">3 September 2025<\/time> \u2014 During a bilateral meeting in Beijing on the sidelines of China\u2019s 80th anniversary military ceremony, North Korean leader Kim Jong\u2011un pledged to \u201cdo everything I can to assist\u201d Moscow after talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who invited Kim to visit Russia.<\/p>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Kim and Putin held a more than two\u2011hour meeting in Beijing during China\u2019s military parade events.<\/li>\n<li>Putin invited Kim to travel to Russia; Kim said \u201csee you soon\u201d as they parted.<\/li>\n<li>North Korea has supplied weapons and, according to multiple accounts, deployed troops to support Russia in Ukraine.<\/li>\n<li>Russia launched a large overnight strike on Ukraine\u2014about 500 drones and roughly two dozen missiles\u2014targeting energy and transport infrastructure.<\/li>\n<li>Ukraine\u2019s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the strikes and called for tougher sanctions; some experts urge legal scrutiny over foreign support for Moscow.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Verified facts<\/h2>\n<p>The meeting took place in Beijing on 3 September 2025 as leaders attended a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war. Video released by the Kremlin shows the leaders conversing and departing together on the Tiananmen Square red carpet.<\/p>\n<p>In the recorded exchange, Kim told Putin he would \u201cdo everything I can to assist.\u201d Putin replied, by interpreter, inviting Kim to visit Russia; Kim said \u201csee you soon\u201d and hugged Putin on departure. The leaders\u2019 interaction followed Kim\u2019s arrival in Beijing by armoured train and a prior 2023 trip to Russia.<\/p>\n<p>Since Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Pyongyang has been identified by multiple governments as a supplier of artillery shells, missiles and other materiel to Moscow. Analysts and officials have also reported deployments of North Korean personnel to fight alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region, though Pyongyang initially denied troop movements.<\/p>\n<p>On the same day, Russian forces conducted a major assault on western and central Ukraine, with Ukrainian authorities reporting approximately 500 drones and about two dozen missiles aimed largely at energy and rail infrastructure. Ukraine said at least four railway workers were injured. Poland reported scrambling defence aircraft in response.<\/p>\n<h2>Context &#038; impact<\/h2>\n<p>The meeting underscores the deepening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang. In 2024 the two countries signed an agreement committing mutual &#8220;military and other assistance&#8221; if one is attacked, formalising security cooperation that Western officials say has practical implications on the battlefield in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>Beijing hosted the ceremony and met both leaders amid efforts by Xi Jinping to manage relations with Moscow and Pyongyang while limiting fallout with the West. Analysts say China seeks to balance strategic partnerships without inviting fresh sanctions.<\/p>\n<p>For Kyiv and its partners, North Korea\u2019s material and human support to Russia raises strategic and legal concerns. Some international law experts have proposed that senior figures who materially assist an ongoing aggression could face legal exposure; Russia\u2019s president is already subject to an ICC arrest warrant related to alleged war crimes in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<details>\n<summary>Explainer: What Moscow and Pyongyang have agreed<\/summary>\n<p>In 2024 Russia and North Korea signed a mutual assistance pact obliging the countries to offer &#8220;military and other assistance&#8221; if one is attacked. That framework does not automatically mean coordinated deployments, but it formalises a security relationship that analysts say makes Moscow more resilient to pressure and sanctions.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/aside>\n<h3>Official statements<\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;We are waiting for you, come visit us,&#8221; Putin said to Kim during the exchange, and Kim replied he would do &#8220;everything I can to assist.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><cite>Kremlin video and public remarks<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Unconfirmed<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Exact numbers and locations of North Korean troops reported in Ukraine remain contested; some deployments were initially denied by Pyongyang.<\/li>\n<li>Details of any planned bilateral visit by Kim to Russia have not been formally announced.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Bottom line<\/h2>\n<p>The Beijing encounter highlighted growing ties between Moscow and Pyongyang and produced an invitation that could deepen military cooperation. The timing \u2014 coinciding with a large Russian strike on Ukraine \u2014 has increased international alarm and bolstered calls for stronger sanctions and legal scrutiny.<\/p>\n<h2>Sources<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/sep\/03\/kim-jong-un-promises-to-do-everything-to-assist-moscow-after-putin-meeting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Guardian<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kremlin.ru\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kremlin (official footage)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.president.gov.ua\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Office of the President of Ukraine<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>3 September 2025 \u2014 During a bilateral meeting in Beijing on the sidelines of China\u2019s 80th anniversary military ceremony, North Korean leader Kim Jong\u2011un pledged to \u201cdo everything I can to assist\u201d Moscow after talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who invited Kim to visit Russia. Key takeaways Kim and Putin held a more than &#8230; <a title=\"Kim Jong-un pledges to assist Moscow after meeting with Putin in Beijing\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/kim-jong-un-support-moscow-putin\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Kim Jong-un pledges to assist Moscow after meeting with Putin in Beijing\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_title":"Kim pledges support for Moscow after meeting Putin | Brief","rank_math_description":"At a Beijing meeting on 3 Sept 2025, Kim Jong\u2011un pledged to \"do everything\" to assist Moscow after talks with Vladimir Putin, who invited him to visit Russia. Kyiv condemned the move.","rank_math_focus_keyword":"Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin, Moscow, Beijing meeting, North Korea","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}