Putin, Kim meet in Beijing; Kremlin says Russia not plotting against US

No one even thought of this in their thoughts, according to a Kremlin aide who refuted Donald Trump’s claims that Russian, Chinese, and North Korean leaders were conspiring against the United States.

Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un discussed the deepening military partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang during talks on Wednesday in Beijing.

Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, as they conspire against the United States of America, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Following a military parade in central Beijing, where Chinese President Xi Jinping presided over celebrations in Tiananmen Square to mark the 80th anniversary of the Japanese surrender and the end of World War II, the meeting was held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

Difficulty number of world leaders, despite almost none from the West, were drawn to the event, which in part conveyed a message to the audience.

After a formal reception, the Kremlin claimed on social media that Putin and Kim travelled to the meeting in the same vehicle. Kim’s daughter Kim Ju Ae was present, according to images from North Korean state media.

Kim made his first public appearance alongside both Putin and Xi, which was a sign of unity during the parade in China.

Putin praised the bravery and heroism of North Korean soldiers, who he claimed fought alongside Russian forces in a Ukrainian incursion into Kursk, Russia’s border region.

Since Moscow and Pyongyang signed a strategic partnership pact in June 2024, Kim asserted, in turn, that cooperation has “significantly increased.”

If there is anything I can do to help you and the Russian people, I will act as if there is something more that is needed, a fraternal duty, a duty that we must bear, and I will be ready to do anything to help, Kim said.

According to South Korean officials, North Korea has sent about 15, 000 soldiers to Russia since last year in order to bolster Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, along with significant military supplies, including artillery and KN-23 ballistic missiles.

According to analysts, Pyongyang is receiving cutting-edge Russian military equipment in return, including satellite guidance systems that could expand its missile arsenal.

For the first time in 24 years, Putin and Kim signed a treaty establishing a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” that revived diplomatic ties between the two sanctioned states in July 2024. Kim has previously had three meetings with Vladimir Putin.

North Korea only acknowledged that its soldiers had been killed in combat and that it had only confirmed that it had sent troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine in April.

Kim met with the families of the soldiers killed last week in Ukraine, offering condolences for their “unforgiveable pain” and promising the bereaved “a beautiful life,” according to state media.

Kim hosted the families of the fallen soldiers, according to a report from the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Saturday, and he expressed “grief at having failed to save the precious lives of those who gave their lives to defend the country’s honor.

The North Korean leader expressed sympathy for the children who lost their fathers in his “heart breaks and aches.”