Kim Jong-un lays wreath at Soviet liberation monument on Liberation Day, vowing to carry on North Korea-Russia ties

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un laid a wreath at the Liberation Tower — a monument honoring Soviet soldiers — to mark the 81st anniversary of Liberation Day.

KCNA reported Saturday that Kim visited the Liberation Tower on Friday "on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the liberation of the fatherland."

Kim said the "great history, traditions and blood ties" between North Korea and Russia serve as "the fundamental cornerstone and inexhaustible driving force" of bilateral friendship, and that "the great friendship and solidarity between the peoples of the two countries, bound by noble ideals and genuine combat comradeship, will be firmly carried forward from generation to generation in the new era of all-round prosperity," according to KCNA.

Kim presented a wreath at the tower bearing an inscription in his name that read: "We will never forget the feats of the Soviet army martyrs."

This was Kim's third Liberation Day visit to the Liberation Tower, a gesture widely seen as a public display of his close alignment with Russia.

The Liberation Tower in Pyongyang commemorates Soviet soldiers who died fighting Japanese forces in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula in 1945. Russia says approximately 47,000 Soviet troops were killed or wounded in those battles.

Kim was accompanied by his daughter Ju-ae and wife Ri Sol-ju. It was the first time Ju-ae had joined him for a Liberation Day visit — a move analysts see as underscoring her status as a symbol of the next generation and a likely successor of the Paektu bloodline, while also signaling Kim's intent to sustain the North Korea-Russia alliance across generations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent Kim a congratulatory message marking the 81st anniversary of Liberation Day.

Putin said relations between Moscow and Pyongyang had reached "an unprecedentedly high level of comprehensive strategic partnership," adding that "our states are actively cooperating in all areas and coordinating efforts to ensure regional security and stability," according to KCNA.

Putin particularly highlighted what appeared to be a reference to North Korea's troop deployment to Russia, describing the two countries' "joint undertakings" and stressing the strength of their friendship.

North Korea and Russia signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty at a summit between Kim and Putin in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024. Under the treaty, if either country faces armed aggression and enters a state of war, the other must provide military assistance without delay. Citing that treaty, North Korea began deploying combat and engineering troops to the war in Ukraine in October of that year.

Putin said he was confident the two sides would "continue constructive joint work on pressing bilateral and international issues in the interests of the Russian and Korean peoples and in the name of establishing a more just and genuinely democratic world order."

The two leaders exchange congratulatory messages every year on Liberation Day. KCNA made no mention of a reply from Kim.