June 2024 – North Korea and Russia sign a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in Pyongyang, establishing a framework that later underpins extensive military and diplomatic cooperation, including troop deployments to Ukraine and joint statements on world peace[12].

Sep 3, 2025 – Kim Jong un and Vladimir Putin shake hands at a Beijing summit, visually reinforcing the personal bond that fuels the “precious common asset” narrative in subsequent North Korean messaging[6].

Dec 18, 2025 – President Putin sends a New Year greeting to Kim Jong un, praising the “heroic” dispatch of North Korean troops to Russia’s war in Ukraine and invoking the 2024 partnership treaty as a basis for expanding cooperation across political, economic and security fields[14].

Dec 26, 2025 – South Korea’s ambassador to Russia, Lee Sok‑bae, meets Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Moscow, marking the first publicly acknowledged contact between Seoul and a senior Russian official since the ambassador’s appointment and hinting at Seoul’s intent to leverage Moscow on North Korean nuclear issues[13].

Dec 26, 2025 – Kim Jong un’s New Year message to Putin calls the DPRK‑Russia alliance a “precious common asset” and the “sincerest alliance of sharing blood, life and death,” citing the June 2024 strategic partnership as the foundation for mutual support[12].

Dec 30, 2025 – Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova exchanges New Year gifts with Kim Yo‑jong, receiving a portrait and a vase and noting the gifts symbolize “tenderness and strength” while highlighting the deepening security and diplomatic partnership forged since the 2024 treaty[11].

Jan 1, 2026 – Kim Jong un lauds overseas troops in a New Year letter, saying their combat “cements the invincible alliance” with Moscow and urging them onward with the rallying cry “Behind you are Pyongyang and Moscow”[10].

Jan 1, 2026 – North Korea’s KCNA briefly reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife send New Year greetings to Kim Jong un, listing them among other foreign leaders but providing no content, underscoring routine diplomatic outreach at the year’s start[9].

Jan 2, 2026 – Russia’s foreign ministry and Kim Yo‑jong swap New Year gifts again, with the Russian spokeswoman receiving a portrait of Kim Jong un from the North Korean sister‑official, a symbolic gesture that signals the continued warming of Moscow‑Pyongyang ties[7].

Jan 2, 2026 – Kim Jong un visits a family mausoleum with his daughter for the first time, adding a personal note to a week of high‑profile public appearances that began with a constitutional ceremony and missile test launches in late December 2025[8].

Jan 8, 2026 – Kim Jong un sends a letter to Vladimir Putin pledging “unconditional, permanent” respect and support for all Russian policies, describing the friendship as “constant and permanent” and a source of national pride[6].

Jan 9, 2026 – North Korea’s state news agency KCNA publishes Kim’s letter, framing it as a reply to Putin’s earlier congratulatory note and emphasizing the “most precious” comradely relations between the two leaders[1].

Jan 13, 2026 – UN envoy Kim Song denounces a Security Council meeting on Russia’s missile strike in Ukraine, calling the session “Western caviling” and reiterating that Kyiv’s actions are “terrorist,” while highlighting North Korea’s deployment of thousands of troops to support Moscow[4].

Jan 15, 2026 – President Putin, at a Moscow credentials ceremony, declares that “goodwill has been squandered” and urges a pragmatic reset of relations with the Republic of Korea, citing past trade gains from pragmatic engagement as a model for future cooperation[5].

Jan 18, 2026 – Kim Jong un sends a restrained New Year greeting to Chinese President Xi Jinping, referring to Xi only by title and noting that Xi and his wife had earlier sent a message to Kim, contrasting the modest tone with more extensive coverage of Russia‑related diplomacy[3].

Feb 23, 2026 – On Russia’s Defender of the Fatherland Day, Defense Attaché Alexei Bartusov hosts a banquet in Pyongyang, declaring that “North Korea and Russia are safeguarding the world’s peace and justice” and thanking North Korean soldiers for their “great service” in the Ukraine war, describing the bilateral partnership as “unprecedentedly high”[2].

Feb 24, 2026 – At the same banquet, the North Korean vice‑defence minister vows that “Pyongyang will always be with Moscow,” calling the relationship “friendship forged in blood on the battlefield,” while participants view a war‑exhibition and pay respects to Soviet‑era Russian soldiers who died fighting for North Korea in World II[2].

2026 (future) – South Korea announces plans to seek a constructive Russian role in restarting dialogue with Pyongyang next year, aiming to curb Moscow‑North Korea military cooperation and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula while monitoring Ukraine negotiations[15].