North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui told the Russian ambassador to North Korea that "we will do everything to continue driving the all-around development of bilateral relations and further strengthen strategic and tactical cooperation."
According to the Korean Central News Agency on the 17th, Choe delivered these remarks at a banquet the Russian Embassy in North Korea hosted the previous day at the Daedong River Diplomatic Corps Club in Pyongyang to mark the 77th anniversary of diplomatic ties between North Korea and Russia.
Choe emphasized, "Under the leadership of Comrade Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the friendly and cooperative relations between the DPRK and Russia (North Korea and Russia) have entered a new period of comprehensive blossoming," and "based on the treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership, bilateral relations are developing vigorously with an unprecedented breadth and depth."
She added, "It is the unwavering will of the government of the republic to continue to support and unite closely with Russia."
In response, Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexandr Matsegora said that North Korea-Russia relations have "developed to an unprecedentedly high level of strategic partnership and alliance," the Russian Embassy in North Korea said via its Telegram channel.
Ambassador Matsegora, referring to a scene at the military parade held on the 10th at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang in which North Korea's "overseas operations unit," which had been dispatched to Russia's Kursk, marched carrying the national flag and the Russian tricolor, stressed, "We will never forget their feats."
North Korea established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, the predecessor of Russia, on Oct. 12, 1948.