Kim Jong Un awards Putin with Kim Il Sung Order

PYONGYANG, June 20. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been awarded with the Kim Il Sung Order, North Korea’s higher state decoration, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
According to KCNA, the order was awarded by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally.
Kim said that the order was awarded as a “token of boundless respect and confidence of our government and people to him, who has made a special contribution to the development of relations between the two countries,” KCNA said.
The ceremony was attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, presidential aide Yury Ushakov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, and Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora.
The Kim Il Sung Oder was established in 1972 in honor of North Korea’s founder and represents a five-pointed star with Kim Il Sung’s potraut.
Putin paid a state visit to Pyongyang on June 18 and 19. It was a return visit at Kim’s invitation. Kim invited Putin to visit North Korea when he was on a visit to Russia in September 2023. Putin’s talks with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un yielded a treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership, and agreement on cooperation in the areas of medicine, medical education and science, as well as an agreement on the construction of a motor bridge across the River Tumannaya on the border between the two countries.