 Russia's defence minister praised North Korea as having 'the strongest army in the world' after meeting Kim Jong-un during a rare visit to the secretive state. Sergei Shoigu, the general tasked with leading the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, joined a Chinese delegation in Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War – celebrated in the North as 'Victory Day'. On the first visit by a Russian defence minister since the fall of the Soviet Union, Kim gave him a tour of the country's newest weapons, including ballistic missiles previously banned by the UN Security Council with Russian and Chinese support. Shoigu then handed over a 'warm and beautiful personal letter' from Vladimir Putin before Kim thanked the Russian president, saying the visit had deepened the 'strategic and traditional' relations between their countries. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim and Shoigu reached a consensus on unspecified 'matters of mutual concern in the field of national defence and security and on the regional and international security environment'. Photos from an arms exhibition showed Kim and Shoigu walking near a row of large missiles mounted on launcher trucks. Some appeared to be intercontinental ballistic missiles that the North has flight-tested in recent years as it pursues an arsenal that can pose a viable threat to the continental United States. Shoigu paid homage to the regime's Hwasong-17 and Hwasng-18 missiles and told Kim at one point that his military 'has become the strongest army in the world' – a comment not reported by Russian state media. Pyongyang rolled out the red carpet for the Russian defence minister (Picture: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images) Kim said the visit had deepened the 'strategic and traditional' relations between their countries (Picture: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP v){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Russia’s defence minister praised North Korea as having ‘the strongest army in the world’ after meeting Kim Jong-un during a rare visit to the secretive state.
Sergei Shoigu, the general tasked with leading the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, joined a Chinese delegation in Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War – celebrated in the North as ‘Victory Day’.
On the first visit by a Russian defence minister since the fall of the Soviet Union, Kim gave him a tour of the country’s newest weapons, including ballistic missiles previously banned by the UN Security Council with Russian and Chinese support.
Shoigu then handed over a ‘warm and beautiful personal letter’ from Vladimir Putin before Kim thanked the Russian president, saying the visit had deepened the ‘strategic and traditional’ relations between their countries.