Moscow:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has gifted North Korea dozens of animals, together with a lion and two bears, as an indication of friendship between Moscow and Pyongyang, Russian officers mentioned Wednesday.
The 2 nations have deepened political, navy and cultural ties amid Russia’s offensive on Ukraine, with Putin and North Korean chief Kim Jong Un repeatedly professing their private camaraderie.
“An African lion, two brown bears, two home yaks, 5 white cockatoos, 25 pheasants of assorted species and 40 mandarin geese had been transferred from the Moscow Zoo to the Pyongyang Zoo,” Russia’s pure assets ministry mentioned in a submit on Telegram.
It posted a video of the animals in cargo containers being unloaded off a authorities aircraft, and one other of the lion in its new enclosure on the Pyongyang Zoo.
Putin beforehand gifted Kim 24 purebred horses, identified to be Kim’s favorite, whereas Kim despatched Putin a pair of native canines.
The 2 nations, each beneath heavy Western sanctions, signed a mutual defence pact earlier this yr that obligates them to supply fast navy help if the opposite is invaded.
Western capitals, in addition to Ukraine and South Korea, say North Korea has lately deployed greater than 10,000 of its troops to Russia, to be despatched into fight towards Kyiv’s forces.
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