Vladimir Putin meets North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un in Beijing

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have met to begin bilateral talks in Beijing.

The two leaders met formally at the Diaoyutai state guest house after attending a major military parade in the heart of the Chinese capital that marked the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

Mr Putin and Mr Kim travelled from a formal reception to the negotiations in the same car, the Kremlin said in a post on social media.

Speaking in front of journalists as the meeting began, Mr Putin praised the bravery and heroism of North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Moscow’s troops to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region.

According to South Korean assessments, North Korea has sent about 15,000 troops to Russia since last year.

It has also sent large quantities of military equipment, including ballistic missiles and artillery, to help fuel Mr Putin’s three-year invasion of Ukraine.

In his opening remarks, Mr Kim said that providing any assistance to Russia was North Korea’s “fraternal duty”, Russian state media outlet Tass reported.

Mr Kim said that co-operation between Pyongyang and Moscow has “significantly strengthened” since the two countries signed a strategic partnership pact in June last year during a summit in the North Korean capital.

Although he did not specifically mention the war, Mr Kim said that “if there’s anything I can do for you and the people of Russia, if there is more that needs to be done, I will consider it as a fraternal duty, an obligation that we surely need to bear, and will be prepared to do everything possible to help”.

The anniversary celebrations in Beijing mark the first time that Mr Kim has attended a major multilateral event during his 14-year rule, and the first time Mr Kim, Mr Putin, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have gathered at the same venue.

Referencing Mr Xi in a post on social media, US President Donald Trump wrote: “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America.”

Mr Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov later said that Mr Trump’s words were not without irony.

“I want to say that no-one has been plotting anything, no-one was weaving any conspiracies,” he said.

“None of the three leaders had even thought about such a thing.”