NORTH KOREA said today that it has agreed to further strategic and tactical co-operation with Russia to establish a “new multipolarised international order,” as the two countries work to build a united front in the face of their separate, intensifying tensions with the United States.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has also reaffirmed his willingness to visit Pyongyang and said that could come at an “early date.”

The North Koreans have been actively strengthening ties with Russia, highlighted by leader Kim Jong Un’s September visit to Russia for a summit with President Putin.