Russian President Vladimir Putin has gifted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a Russian-made car, Pyongyang’s state media said on Tuesday, as the two countries bolster ties in areas from tourism to defence.
Kim was “presented with a car made in Russia for his personal use by Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, president of the Russian Federation”, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency reported.
Kim’s powerful sister, Yo Jong, said the “gift serves as a clear demonstration of the special personal relations between the top leaders” of the two countries, KCNA added.
The report did not specify the vehicle’s model.
Since Kim visited Putin last year, Pyongyang has been drawing ever closer to Moscow, with a group of Russian tourists arriving earlier this month for a four-day trip – the first known foreign tour group since before pandemic-linked border closures in 2020.
After September’s Kim-Putin summit in Russia’s Far East, the United States and South Korea have repeatedly claimed the North has shipped weapons to Moscow for use in its war with Ukraine, in exchange for Russian help with Kim’s satellite programmes.