Beijing, Sept. 3: Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have met to begin bilateral talks in Beijing.

The two leaders met formally at the Diaoyutai state guest house after attending a major military parade in the heart of the Chinese capital that marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Putin and Kim traveled from a formal reception to the negotiations in the same car, the Kremlin said in a post on social media.

Speaking in front of journalists as the meeting began, Putin praised the bravery and heroism North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Moscow’s troops to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region.

According to South Korean assessments, North Korea has sent around 15,000 troops to Russia since last year.

In his opening remarks, Kim Jong Un said that providing any assistance to Russia was North Korea’s “fraternal duty,” Russian state media outlet TASS reported.-Agencies