The Asian country's leader has praised the "genuine alliance" between Pyongyang and Moscow in a New Year message to Vladimir Putin

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent New Year greetings to Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling the past year "truly meaningful" for Moscow-Pyongyang ties.

In a statement carried by KCNA on Saturday, Kim said the relationship was further strengthened by "sharing blood" on the Ukraine conflict frontline.

Earlier this year, North Korean troops, acting under the June 2024 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, helped Russian forces repel a large-scale Ukrainian incursion in the Kursk Region. While troop numbers were not disclosed, Russian authorities praised their role and said a monument in Moscow will honor those killed defending the country's territory.

"The year 2025, filled with immortal scenes that will be etched forever in the history of relations between our two countries, was truly meaningful," Kim was cited as saying, praising the growing "mutual support and selfless assistance" between the two nations. "Relations have been further solidified as the most genuine alliance, forged by sharing blood and the trials of life and death together on a single front."

Kim insisted that "no one can break the relations" between Moscow and Pyongyang, which are bound by the "shared will and power to defend the just aspirations of the times and to set history straight." He added that Russia-North Korea ties are "a precious common asset" that must be preserved "for generations to come."

Last week, Putin also sent New Year greetings to the North Korean leader, saying the deepening ties between the two nations would "contribute to establishing a just multipolar world order." He thanked Pyongyang for its military assistance in Kursk, noting that the "heroic entry" of North Korean troops into battle and the work of their combat engineers had "clearly proved the invincible friendship" between the two peoples. He added that cooperation would continue to expand across political, trade, economic, humanitarian, and other fields.