As Putin arrives in N Korea, he vows Russia will support rogue nation against United States

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday upon his arrival to North Korea that his country will support the rogue nation against the United States.

Putin is meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whose country faces steep sanctions, in an effort led by the U.S., over its pursuit of a nuclear weapon. 

Putin’s visit to North Korea is the first in 24 years and comes during heightened tensions between N. Korea and Washington and its ally South Korea, acccording to Reuters.

North Korea has also purportedly made unlawful transfers of “dozens of ballistic missiles and over 11,000 containers of munitions to Russia” for use in Ukraine.

In an op-ed published in North Korean state media hours before he arrived in Pyongyang, Putin thanked North Korea for supporting Russia’s military operations in Ukraine and praised the nuclear-armed country for its resistance against what he named was, “U.S. pressure, blackmail and military threats.”

The meeting will be to advance the countries' trade and security systems efforts.

The White House on Monday expressed concern over the “deepening relationship between [the] two countries.”

Putin is expected to visit Vietnam on June 19-20 after the North Korea visit.

“As Russia continues to seek international support to sustain its illegal and brutal war against Ukraine, we reiterate that no country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalize his atrocities,” read a statement from a U.S. Embassy spokesperson in Vietnam.