North Korea leader Kim Jong Un on Friday sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin to congratulate him on the 75th anniversary of the allied victory in World War II and wishing Russia success in fighting its coronavirus outbreak.
The report by Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency on Saturday came a day after it reported Kim sent a personal message to Chinese President Xi Jinping to praise what he described as China’s success in getting its COVID-19 epidemic under control.
Last week, Kim made his first public appearance since speculation about his health began last month, cutting the ribbon at the opening of a fertilizer factory.
The North Korean leader had not made a public appearance since presiding over a Workers’ Party politburo meeting on April 11, and the following day state media reported that he had inspected fighter jets.
Kim Jong Un’s temporary disappearance triggered a series of fevered rumors and unconfirmed reports over his condition, while the United States and South Korea insisted they had no information to believe any of the conjecture was true.
According to the KCNA report, Kim’s message sincerely wished the President and people of Russia sure victory in their struggle to build a powerful Russia by carrying forward the tradition of the great victory in the war and to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection.
Earlier, the North Korean leader was gravely ill following heart surgery.
On Wednesday, according to the Yonhap news agency, there are no signs that Kim received heart surgery when he disappeared from state media for three weeks, but he reduced public activity due to coronavirus concerns.
South Korea’s Unification Minister Kim Yeon-Chul, who oversees North Korea affairs, has said Kim’s public disappearance was not particularly unusual because the country had been taking stringent steps to head off an outbreak.