NKorea's Kim Hails Russia Ties as Putin Reportedly Plans a Visit

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometres from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometres from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
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NKorea's Kim Hails Russia Ties as Putin Reportedly Plans a Visit

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometres from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometres from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hailed the country's expanding relationship with Russia on Wednesday, as reports suggest that Russian President Vladimir Putin will soon visit the country for his third meeting with Kim.
Military, economic and other cooperation between North Korea and Russia have sharply increased since Kim visited Russia last September for a meeting with Putin. The US, South Korea and their partners believe North Korea has supplied artillery, missiles and other conventional weapons to Russia to support its war in Ukraine in return for advanced military technologies and economic aid.
Kim has been pushing to boost partnerships with Russia and China in a bid to strength his regional footing and launch a united front against the United States, The Associated Press reported.
During their September meeting at Russia’s main space launch site, Kim invited the Russian president to visit North Korea at “a convenient time,” and Putin accepted.
On Wednesday, Kim sent Putin a congratulatory message commemorating Russia's National Day, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
“Thanks to the significant meeting between us at the Vostochney Spaceport in September last year, (North Korea)-Russia friendly and cooperative relations developed into an unbreakable relationship of comrades-in-arms,” Kim said in the message.
Kim's comments came as media reports said Putin is expected to visit North Korea as early as next week. If realized, it would their third summit meeting. Their first summit happened in Vladivostok in April 2019.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK, citing unidentified diplomatic sources including high-ranking Russian officials, reported Wednesday that Putin is preparing to visit North Korea and Vietnam next week.
NHK said Putin is expected to seek stronger military ties with North Korea as Russia faces a shortage of weapons in its war with Ukraine, while North Korea is believed to want help with space technology in the wake of its recent failure to put a second spy satellite in orbit in late May.
Earlier this week, Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper carried a similar report.
Neither Russia nor North Korea have confirmed reports of a planned trip. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing in late May that “the visit is in the pipeline, and we will make an announcement in due time,” according to Russian news agency Tass.



Ukraine Allows Multiple Citizenship as War Drags on

A service member of the 110th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
A service member of the 110th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Allows Multiple Citizenship as War Drags on

A service member of the 110th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
A service member of the 110th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine June 16, 2025. (Reuters)

Ukraine's parliament passed a law on Wednesday to allow Ukrainians to have multiple citizenship in an attempt to ease a demographic crisis worsened by Russia's war and to enhance ties with the country's diaspora.

The bill was passed by 243 deputies, lawmakers said.

"This decision is an important step to maintain and restore ties with millions of Ukrainians around the world," Oleksiy Chernyshov, minister for unity, said in a social media post on Facebook after the vote.

Government officials have estimated the Ukrainian diaspora at about 25 million people. Government and analysts estimate the population in the country at about 32 million people now.

Previously, Ukrainian law did not recognize dual or multiple citizenship, meaning that ethnic Ukrainians around the world holding other passports needed to renounce their other citizenship if they wanted a Ukrainian passport.

The issue of multiple citizenship has become even more pressing since Russia's invasion in February 2022.

The war is exacerbating a demographic decline that had started years before.

In 1991, when Ukraine became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the population was 52 million.

But Ukraine saw several large labor migrations in the early 1990s. With the start of the invasion, millions of Ukrainians fled the fighting. Data show that more than 5 million Ukrainians live in Europe as the war is in its fourth year.

Lawmakers said that the new law would simplify procedures for children born to Ukrainian parents abroad and also for Ukrainians who obtain other citizenship by marriage.

It will also make it easier to obtain Ukrainian citizenship for foreigners fighting for Ukraine on the frontlines.

In line with the new law, the government would draw up a list of countries from which dual citizenship was allowed.

The text of the bill does not directly ban Russian citizens from obtaining Ukrainian passports. But it mentions that the government would be able to implement restrictions related to the armed aggression against Ukraine.

Foreigners would have to pass a test to prove their knowledge of the Ukrainian language, history and constitution.