Putin Congratulates N., S. Korean Leaders on National Liberation Day

On Tuesday, Russia's President Vladimir Putin sent congratulatory telegrams on the occasion of Korea's National Liberation Day to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, expressing hope for deepening bilateral cooperation, and to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.

"Kim Jong Un, president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, received a message of greeting from Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation, on August 15. In the message, the Russian president extended his heartfelt congratulations to the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un on the occasion of the day of Korea's liberation," the telegram to the North Korean leader was quoted as saying by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Putin expressed hope that bilateral cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang will be strengthened in all areas "for the two peoples' well-being and the firm stability and security of the Korean peninsula and the whole of Northeast Asia," the telegram says.

At the same time, he congratulated Yoon on the occasion of Korea's liberation day, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sent a congratulatory message to his South Korean counterpart, Park Jin, the Russian Embassy in Seoul told Sputnik.

North and South Korea celebrate National Liberation Day annually on August 15 to commemorate the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from Japanese rule in 1945.