Vladimir Putin Honours Kim Jong Un With Commemorative WWII Medal

MOSCOW: North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday was awarded with a commemorative World War II medal by Russian President Vladimir Putin marking the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, the Russian embassy in Pyongyang said Tuesday.

The official statement of Russian embassy said, that the medal was awarded to Kim for the role he played in safeguarding the memories of Soviet soldiers who died in the territory of North Korea.

However, Kim, who was rumored earlier this month to have fallen ill, didn't attend the ceremony. Russia's ambassador in North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, presented the award to the country's Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon on May 5.

Both Russian and North Korean officials were seen at the ceremony with face masks on amid coronavirus outbreak even though Pyongyang has not reported a single case of COVID-19 disease.

According to media reports, Kim was earlier invited by Putin to Moscow on May 9 to attend the military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the victory. But Putin announced the decision to postpone the parade indefinitely last month because of the virus outbreak.

In 2015, the North Korean leader rejected a similar invitation to the 70th anniversary, citing domestic affairs.

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