Kim and Putin reaffirm ties as Korea marks 81 years of liberation

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reaffirmed the deepening of ties with Russia in a message to President Vladimir Putin, as Pyongyang marked the 81st anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, the state news agency KCNA reported on Sunday.

According to KCNA, Mr. Kim was responding to a congratulatory message from Mr. Putin on Saturday, which marked the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War Two. Mr. Putin noted that the bond between the two countries was forged when Soviet soldiers fought against Japan, and said cooperation would continue "in all the sectors".

Mr. Kim expressed hope for the future of relations that had "carried forward the history of common struggle for justice and precious traditions of friendship", KCNA said.

North Korea and Russia have grown significantly closer since Pyongyang began deploying troops and weapons to support Russia's military campaign in Ukraine. This has been described as North Korea's most significant involvement in a war since the 1950s.

To mark the liberation anniversary, the Russian ship Pallada arrived at the North Korean port of Wonsan on Saturday for a goodwill visit, KCNA reported. The ship was greeted by North Korean provincial officials and staff from the Russian embassy.

Also on Saturday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for talks with the rival North aimed at peaceful coexistence. Speaking at Seoul's Liberation Day ceremony, Mr. Lee said the two Koreas need safeguards to prevent conflict and should work to replace the armistice that ended the 1950-1953 Korean War with a formal "peace regime". The war concluded with a ceasefire but no peace treaty.

Mr. Lee urged dialogue to formally end the war and said talks could explore ways to curb Pyongyang's nuclear programme. However, Pyongyang has rejected Mr. Lee's overtures and has repeatedly criticised joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises as provocations.

Liberation Day in Korea commemorates the end of 35 years of Japanese colonial rule on the peninsula in 1945. The division of Korea into two separate states followed the surrender of Japan, with the Soviet Union administering the north and the United States administering the south. That division eventually led to the Korean War, which ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically still at war.

In a separate development, Mr. Putin drew condemnation from Tokyo on Thursday after visiting an island off Hokkaido that Japan claims but which was seized by Soviet forces in the days after Japan's 1945 surrender. The visit was seen as a symbolic show of Russia's continued control over the disputed territory.