In a new gesture of strengthening ties between Russia and North Korea, Russia is sending over 400 goats to the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
According to North Korean state media, the goats are intended to ensure a steady supply of dairy products for children in the Nampo municipality. Additional shipments of farm animals from Russia are anticipated.
This gift follows the signing of a strategic partnership treaty between Kim Jong-un and President Vladimir Putin during Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June, marking his first trip to the isolated country since 2000.
Russia’s state veterinary service, Rosselkhoznadzor, confirmed the shipment of 432 non-pregnant female goats and 15 male goats to a Korean trading company.
In return, Kim Jong-un presented Putin with two Pungsan dogs, a breed native to North Korea.
Last year, Russia sent 30 grey thoroughbred horses to Pyongyang, with Kim believed to be an enthusiastic rider.
While Russia and North Korea have maintained friendly relations since the Soviet era, the Kremlin is now focusing on enhancing these ties as part of its strategy to build an anti-Western coalition.
Russian state media has characterized the alliance with North Korea as a stand against “global imperialism” led by the United States and its allies.
North Korea has supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reportedly supplying artillery shells and a few ballistic missiles. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that a North Korean missile was used in an attack on Kyiv on August 10, resulting in the deaths of a father and his four-year-old son.
