North Korea sends soldiers to Russia, gets bears, lion in return

Animals are said to have always have played a special role in relations between North Korea and Russia.

An African lion, two brown bears and 45 pheasants were among the over 70 animals Russia sent to North Korea as a “sign of support” amid ties between both the countries strengthening during the Ukraine war, for which the latter sent 10,000 troops recently to bolster the Russian forces.

In this photo taken from video released by the Moscow Zoo official telegram channel on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, a box containing a white cockatoo is unloaded from a Russian cargo plane at the International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea after being delivered as a gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin. (AP)

Alexander Kozlov, Russia’s natural resources minister, oversaw the relocation of the animals, which were transported by air to the Pyongyang Central Zoo of North Korea accompanied by veterinarians from the Moscow Zoo.

"An African lion, two brown bears, two domestic yaks, five white cockatoos, 25 pheasants of various species and 40 mandarin ducks were transferred from the Moscow Zoo to the Pyongyang Zoo," news agency AFP cited Kozlov's post on Telegram.

A video was also posted of the animals in cargo boxes being unloaded off a government aircraft. Another clip showed the lion in its new enclosure at the Pyongyang Zoo.

“Historically, animals always have played a special role in relations between states. They have been given as a sign of support, kindness and care,” he said.

Putin-Kim camaraderie

Putin previously gifted North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un 24 purebred horses, known to be latter's favourite, and received a pair of local dogs as return gift.

Earlier this year, Russia and North Korea signed a mutual defence pact that binds them to provide immediate military assistance if the other is invaded. Both Russia and North Korea are under heavy Western sanctions.

Japan also recently conveyed "serious concerns" to China's foreign minister over North Korea's deepening ties with Russia after the pair held talks in Beijing.

"Regarding current events on the Korean Peninsula, cooperation between Russia and the DPRK came up as a topic of discussion," Takeo Akiba told reporters earlier this month at a press briefing, using the acronym of North Korea's official name.

"I conveyed our country's serious concerns about this," he added after the talks with Wang Yi.