MojNews_ Putin wrote in a letter to his counterpart, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, on Pyongyang&#۳۹;s liberation day, that rapprochement between the two countries would benefit both.

In response to Putin&#۳۹;s letter, the North Korean leader also said that the friendship between the two countries began in World War II and with the victory over Japan.

 Kim added that the "friendship and camaraderie" of the two countries will become stronger than before.

According to the North Korean state media, Putin wrote in his letter that the expansion of bilateral relations "will be in line with the interests of the two countries".

In response, the leader of North Korea said that the friendship between Russia and North Korea "has been established and developed for centuries".

 Kim added: "Strategic and tactical cooperation, support and solidarity" between the two countries "on a common front to neutralize the threat and military provocation of hostile forces, has entered a new and special stage."

Pyongyang did not say what it meant by hostile forces in the North Korean leader&#۳۹;s letter, but the term has been used repeatedly by North Korea to refer to the United States and its allies.

The Soviet Union was once North Korea&#۳۹;s main ally, providing economic cooperation, cultural exchanges, and aid to the country.

But this relationship was damaged after the collapse of the Iron Curtain of the Soviet Union, and only after the gradual separation of Russia from the West in the early ۲۰۰۰s, the relations between the two countries gradually and to some extent increased.

In July, North Korea became one of the few countries in the world to officially recognize two Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine after Moscow recognized them.

In retaliation, Ukraine cut off all diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.