Overview

• KCNA reported Kim told Putin their allied ties "will be invariably carried forward in the future" in a letter marking the Russian leader's birthday.
• In the message, Kim pledged full support for what he called Russia's "just struggle" to defend national sovereignty.
• Kim said Pyongyang remains faithful to implementing the inter-state treaty with Russia, according to the KCNA account carried by TASS.
• South Korea's spy agency assesses that roughly 15,000 North Korean personnel and weapons have been sent to assist Russia since last October, Yonhap reported.
• KCNA previously published a photo dated Sept. 4 showing Kim and Putin shaking hands in Beijing during a Tiananmen Square military parade.