North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged letters marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of their countries’ diplomatic relations.

The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) said on Thursday that in his letter, Kim conveyed congratulatory words to Putin, the Russian government and the people upon the anniversary.

Kim then stressed that he is deeply satisfied with the sincere and comprehensive talks with Putin on ways to develop Pyongyang-Moscow ties held during his visit to Russia last month.

The KCNA also revealed the letter from Putin, in which he said the Soviet Union was the first in the world to recognize North Korea as a state in 1948 and that since then, a solid bond of friendly relations and cooperation had been formed between Moscow and Pyongyang.

The two leaders had also exchanged congratulatory letters in 2018 when their nations marked the 70th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties.