Russian President Vladimir Putin has presented North Korea with dozens of animals, including a lion and two bears, as a sign of friendship between Moscow and Pyongyang, Russian officials said.
The two countries have strengthened their political, military and cultural ties amid Russia's offensive in Ukraine. Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have repeatedly acknowledged their personal friendship, AFP reported.
An "African lion, two brown bears, two pet yaks, five white cockatoos, 25 pheasants of different species and 40 mandarin ducks" were transferred from the Moscow zoo to the one in Pyongyang, the Russian Natural Resources Ministry stated in a Telegram post.
It posted a video of the animals in cargo boxes being unloaded from a government plane and another of the lion in its new enclosure at the Pyongyang Zoo.
Earlier, Putin presented the North Korean leader with 24 thoroughbred horses known to be Kim's favorites. He in turn gifted the Russian president two local dogs.
The two countries, which are under heavy Western sanctions, signed a mutual defense pact earlier this year. It commits them to provide immediate military assistance if the other country is attacked.
Western capitals as well as Ukraine and South Korea say North Korea has recently sent more than 10,000 of its soldiers to Russia to fight Kiev's forces. | BGNES
