North Korean leader expresses hope that Moscow will defeat ‘neo-Nazism and achieve a great victory’ in Ukraine.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has paid homage to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a New Year’s message extolling deepening ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, state media has reported.

In a letter to mark the New Year, Kim extended his greetings to his “dearest friend and comrade” Putin, the Russian people and Russian military personnel, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Tuesday.

Kim wished Putin “greater success in his responsible and heavy state leadership activities and the Russian people prosperity, wellbeing and happiness”, KCNA said.

Kim expressed willingness to “design and push ahead with new projects” involving Pyongyang and Moscow after their “meaningful journey” in 2024, KCNA said, and hope that Russia would defeat “neo-Nazism and achieve a great victory” in Ukraine.

Putin has claimed without evidence that his 2022 invasion of Ukraine was necessary to protect Russian speakers from a “neo-Nazi dictatorship”.

North Korea and Russia have significantly ramped up ties since the start of the war.

In June, Kim and Putin signed a mutual defence pact during the Russian leader’s first visit to North Korea in nearly a quarter-century.

Pyongyang has since then sent more than 10,000 troops to assist Russian forces in Ukraine, according to South Korean and Ukrainian officials.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month that his forces had killed or wounded more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service has put the number of estimated North Korean casualties at about 100 killed and 1,000 injured.