Russian security chief Sergei Shoigu lauded North Korea for sharing the “same trench” in the fight to build a new global order, thanking DPRK troops who defended the Kursk region against Ukraine’s incursion “as if it was their own motherland.”

The secretary of Russia’s Security Council made the remarks during a meeting with DPRK State Security Minister Ri Chang Dae on the sidelines of a security forum in Moscow on Wednesday, according to Russian state-run news agencies. He also announced that Russian party and parliamentary delegations will visit Pyongyang in August and October to mark major DPRK holidays.