Russia supports North Korea’s military and nuclear arms buildup, Moscow’s top diplomat said Wednesday, reiterating Moscow’s opposition to the notion of denuclearizing the DPRK.

“The Russian side clearly reaffirmed its full support” for DPRK leader Kim Jong Un’s bid to strengthen the nation’s “defense capabilities” and sovereignty, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministerial conference in Manila, Philippines.