Russia's Duma speaker meets N. Korea's Kim, conveys Putin's greetings: report

This image from Russian State Duma Press Office shows Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the State Duma delivering his speech during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule in North Korea, Thursday. Yonhap

The chief of Russia's parliamentary lower house met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang and conveyed greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin, a Russian media report said Friday.

The meeting between Kim and Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, took place the previous day during his visit to Pyongyang for the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese occupation, TASS reported, citing a Russian parliamentary news release.

"Volodin congratulated the North Korean leadership and people on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from Japanese colonial rule on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin at a solemn meeting on the occasion of the public holiday," TASS said.

Volodin also expressed gratitude to Kim for the support the North Korea people provided fighting on the Kursk frontline region in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to the report.

The Russian lawmaker is visiting North Korea from Thursday to Friday with a parliamentary delegation to mark the 80th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, which falls on Friday.

On Thursday, he also met with Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the North's parliamentary standing committee, and discussed interparliamentary interaction between the countries, TASS said.