Lukashenko greeted by Kim Jong-un on Belarus leader’s first visit to North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang.

Photo: kcna / dpa Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was greeted by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as he arrived on his first visit to the reclusive nation, the Korean Central News Agency reported on Thursday.

A ceremony welcoming Lukashenko took place on Kim Il-sung Square on Wednesday, with Kim “gladly” meeting and “warmly” welcoming the Belarus leader, the report said.

Lukashenko visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun – where the embalmed bodies of Kim’s father and grandfather lie in state – to pay his respects, flanked by top North Korean officials, the report said.

Lukashenko laid a bouquet on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin, it added.

Both nations have provided Moscow with help in its war in Ukraine, with Pyongyang dispatching ground troops and weapons and Minsk serving as a launchpad for Russia’s invasion in 2022.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have estimated that the North has sent thousands of soldiers to Russia, primarily to the Kursk region, along with artillery shells, missiles and rocket systems.

North Korea has been under a barrage of Western sanctions, mostly due to its nuclear weapons programme and missile activity, but also because of its support for Russia’s war against U

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