Russia’s Putin offers disaster aid to North Korea to help it cope with recent flooding damage

Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered humanitarian assistance to help North Korea cope with damages from recent floods, in another sign of expanding relations between the two nations. In a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Putin extended “extended deep sympathy and support” and conveyed his willingness to provide immediate disaster aid to help North Korea recover from the floods, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday. Russia’s state news agency Tass carried a similar report, saying that Putin told Kim in the message: “You can always count on our assistance and support.”