Vladimir Putin has gifted dozens of animals – including a lion and two bears – to a zoo in North Korea, the latest in a series of exchanges as Russia relies on Pyongyang’s artillery and troops to bolster its invasion of Ukraine.
More than 70 animals, including an African lion and two brown bears, were sent by plane with veterinarians from Moscow’s zoo to be transferred to a zoo in Pyongyang.
The animals were “a gift from Vladimir Putin to the Korean people”, the Russian government said.
Local officials treated Russian natural resources minister Alexander Kozlov, who oversaw the exchange, to a tour of the Korean zoo.
It is not the first time Russia has given animals to North Korea, as the two most heavily sanctioned and isolated governments have forged closer ties in recent months.
In April, the eastern European country donated birds, including eagles, cranes and parrots, to the Pyongyang Central Zoo.
For his part, Putin received a pair of local Pungsan dogs from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a trip to the Asian country in June, when the two leaders signed a landmark defence treaty. The pair took turns driving each other around in a Russian-made Aurus limousine.
Earlier this month, North Korea followed Russia in ratifying the treaty, which experts see as a step towards formalising their military cooperation.
The deal calls to “immediately provide military and other assistance using all available means” if either side is in a state of war.
Thousands of North Korean troops are already training in Russia to help fight the war in Ukraine, which is also being supported by Korean arms – prompting concern from Western capitals.
Reports suggest that many of the troops have already started actively fighting, a historic first for North Korea which has never before sent soldiers into international battlefields.
North Korea has one of the world’s largest militaries, with 1.2 million soldiers. Its deployment of troops in Russia could increase from 11,000 to as many as 100,000, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky claimed this week.
