Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Kim Jong Un a commemorative war medal as a token of gratitude for the dictator’s handling of Soviet graves located in North Korea.
Kim was not in attendance at the ceremony in Pyongyang, but North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son Gwon accepted the award from Russian Ambassador Alexander Matsegora on behalf of Kim, according to the Moscow Times.
The award, which marked the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, was given for Kim’s “great personal contribution to the commemoration of dead and buried Soviet citizens on the territory of the DPRK and showing concern about the safety of the Soviet soldiers’ graves and memorial sites.”
Russian state-run media reported that almost 1,400 Soviet soldiers are buried on North Korean soil. Matsegora and Ri reportedly met after the ceremony and discussed relations between Russia and the authoritarian hermit nation.
“They confirmed their intention to continue active efforts to consistently implement the agreements … aimed at further developing and strengthening multifaceted Russian-Korean cooperation,” the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang said.
The award comes after a period of international speculation about Kim’s health. The dictator reportedly made his first public appearance in weeks on Friday at a ceremony marking the opening of a fertilizer factory.
After the reclusive leader disappeared from public view on April 11, reports circulated that he was in “grave danger” following heart surgery, in a vegetative state, dead, or at a favored resort in the North Korean coastal city of Wonsan.
During the medal ceremony, both North Korean and Russian officials were spotted wearing surgical masks despite North Korea’s insistence that it has not had a single case of the coronavirus. Despite the claim, there was a report in March that nearly 200 North Korean soldiers had died from COVID-19 complications.
