Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have sent New Year’s greetings to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kim wrote in a letter that he wants to strengthen ties with Russia further.

According to Kim, the relationship between North Korea and Russia has “reached a peak” this year through “new projects”, state news agency KCNA reported. The North Korean leader “wishes that 2025 will be the first year in the 21st century in which the Russian army defeats neo-Nazism and achieves a great victory”, the letter continues.

North Korean troops were involved in the war in Ukraine this year. More than a thousand North Koreans are said to have died in the fighting, South Korea and the United States reported earlier.

In his New Year’s greetings to Putin, Xi promised to promote “world peace,” Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. “No matter how the international situation changes, China will remain steadfast in implementing far-reaching reforms,” ​​Xi continued.

He also said that China and Russia “have consistently made progress hand in hand, without seeking confrontation.”