Russian President Vladimir Putin sent North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un “greetings” and “sincere congratulations” for the country’s independence celebrations, state media reported on Thursday.

According to North Korea state newspaper Rodong Sinmun, Putin “extended sincere congratulations to Kim Jong Un on the occasion of the day of Korea’s liberation, the national holiday of the DPRK” before “noting that Russia appreciates that the DPRK remembers in humble reverence the soldiers of the Red Army who fought shoulder to shoulder with the Korean patriots for freedom and independence of Korea.”

“I am satisfied with the fact that the relations between our two states have friendly and constructive characters,” Putin’s message read. “I am convinced that we will continue to develop reciprocal cooperation including the realization of the tripartite project involving Russia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea through joint efforts.”

“I affirm that I am ready to meet you at an early date to discuss urgent issues of bilateral relations and important matters of the region,” he continued, while also wishing “Kim Jong Un good health and success and all the people of the DPRK happiness and wellbeing.”

The exchange comes shortly after Putin invited Kim to visit him in Moscow this year, where he promised to “make all necessary efforts to establish ties” such as economic cooperation with the communist dictatorship. In January, Putin described Kim as a “shrewd and mature” politician who had “obviously won this round” against the West with his regime’s aggressive nuclear expansion.

“I think that Mr. Kim Jong-un has obviously won this round. He has completed his strategic task: he has a nuclear weapon, he has missiles of global reach, up to 13,000 km, which can reach almost any point of the globe,” Putin said at the time. “He is already a shrewd and mature politician,”

Russia and North Korea have kept close diplomatic ties since the end of the Korean War, with Putin’s Russia still providing vital economic support while opposing international sanctions against the regime. Putin was also a close ally of Kim Jong-un’s father, Kim Jong-il, with the pair both holding state visits to their respective capitals.

In 2015, the two countries declared a “Year of Friendship” through a number of political, economic and cultural exchanges. That same year, Kim Jong-un accepted an invitation from Putin to visit Moscow, but eventually canceled because of pressing “internal affairs.”

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