GRUESOME TWOSOME
Putin jets in for first North Korea visit in 24 YEARS ahead of ‘new world order’ alliance talks with Kim Jong-un
North Korea has been aggressively tightening ties with Russia in recent months
VLADIMIR Putin has started his journey to North Korea for a two-day summit with dictator Kim Jong-un.
The Russian tyrant - who will be visiting the rogue state for the first time in 24 years - has touched down in Russia's far east and will cross the border later on Tuesday.
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Tyrants Kim, 40, and Putin, 71, are expected to reinforce their strong relationship after vowing to forge a "New World Order" - and boost defence ties between the two nuclear-armed countries.
Putin was seen emerging from his Il-96 presidential plane in Yakutsk - the coldest city in the world - flanked by security before a three-hour flight to North Korea.
Ahead of his planned visit, Putin pledged his support for North Korea in a letter published by state media.
He thanked the country for "firmly supporting" his brutal and illegal war in Ukraine.
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And he promised to help defend North Korea's interests despite what he called "US pressure, blackmail and military threats".
Huge banners with a smiling photo of the Russian leader reading "we ardently welcome President Putin!" have been hung from lamp-posts across Pyongyang with Russian flags.
In recent months, North Korea has agreed to further strategic and tactical cooperation with Russia as both countries ramp up a united front against the United States.
In January, Kim sent delegates to Moscow following the North Korean leader's own trip there in September last year.
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Months earlier, Putin and Kim vowed to fight a "sacred" battle against the West and said they would triumph against "evil" after a summit in Russia.
One of the few world leaders openly supporting Putin's Ukraine war, Kim is attempting to break out of diplomatic isolation.
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He is trying to regain his footing as he navigates a worsening nuclear stalemate with Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years as Kim uses Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a distraction to ramp up his weapons tests and military demonstrations.
The US and its allies have accused North Korea of supplying Russia with arms, including ballistic missiles, to use in Ukraine.
North Korea described allegations of supplying weapons to Russia as "absurd".
Both countries are under rafts of UN sanctions - Pyongyang since 2006 over banned nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.
We know North Korean ballistic missiles are still being used to hit Ukrainian targets
John Kirby
North Korea said Putin's visit showed bilateral ties "are getting stronger day by day", the Korean Central News Agency reported.
And it would "give fresh vitality to the development of the good-neighbourly cooperative relations between the two countries", it added.
But the US has voiced "concern" about the trip due to the security implications for South Korea - as well as Ukraine.
North and South Korea have remained technically at war since their 1950-53 conflict - and the border dividing them is one of the most heavily fortified in the world.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said: "We know North Korean ballistic missiles are still being used to hit Ukrainian targets (and) there could be some reciprocity here that could affect security on the Korean peninsula."
Highlighting the escalating security concerns, South Korea said its troops fired at soldiers from the North who briefly crossed the border on Tuesday before retreating.
The best way to respond to it is to continue strengthening the diplomatic coalition for just and lasting peace in Ukraine
Dmytro Kuleba
The South's military said it believed the soldiers accidentally crossed as they were fortifying the border - but said some were wounded after detonating landmines.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Putin's trip showed how he was "dependent" on authoritarian leaders.
"Their closest friends and the biggest supporters of the Russian war effort -- war of aggression -- (are) North Korea, Iran and China," he said.
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Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the West to counter "the lonely bromance" between Putin and Kim by increasing arms supplies to Kyiv.
Kuleba said: "The best way to respond to it is to continue strengthening the diplomatic coalition for just and lasting peace in Ukraine and delivering more Patriots and ammunition to Ukraine."