North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has told the Russian defense minister that Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons is the result of direct military intervention by the United States and that Moscow is entitled to fight in self-defense, state media said Saturday.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency said Kim met Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov on Friday, and it quoted the North Korean leader as saying, “The U.S. and the West made Kyiv authorities attack Russia’s territory with their own long-range strike weapons.” Russia should take action to make “hostile forces pay the price,” Kim said.

“The DPRK government, army and people will invariably support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity from the imperialists’ moves for hegemony,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

DPRK is short for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Kim pledged to expand ties with Russia in all areas, including military affairs, under the comprehensive strategic partnership he signed with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June, which includes a mutual defense agreement, KCNA said.

Moscow and Pyongyang have dramatically advanced ties since their leaders held a summit in September 2023 in Russia, and the North has since shipped to Russia more than 10,000 containers of ammunition, as well as self-propelled howitzers and multiple rocket launchers, according to South Korea’s spy agency.

KCNA made no mention of whether Kim and Belousov discussed North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia.

South Korea’s spy agency has said that North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia and that they have been moved to the front lines, including the Kursk region, where Russian forces are trying to expel Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine has fired U.S. ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory after the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden gave permission to use them for such an attack this month.

Russia in turn unleashed attacks against Ukraine’s military and energy infrastructures, saying they were made in response to the use of U.S. medium-range missiles.

Belousov separately held talks with North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol and said the partnership pact signed by Kim and Putin would contribute to maintaining the balance of power in Northeast Asia.

Kim personally attended a reception hosted by the defense ministry for Belousov’s delegation, KCNA said.