The two states share a border along the lower Tumen River, which is 17 kilometers (11 mi) long and was formed in 1860 when Tsar Alexander II acquired Ussuriland from Qing dynasty China in the Convention of Peking.

In 2022, North Korea became the third country (the second being Syria) to recognise the independence of the breakaway states of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics in eastern Ukraine.

Soviet troops invaded the Japanese colony of Korea in 1945; by the agreement with the U.S., the 38th parallel was the dividing line with Moscow in charge to the north and Washington to the South.

The Soviet 64th Fighter Aviation Corps took part in the Korean War where they provided North Korea and China with badly needed pilots.

The first meeting of the Inter-governmental Commission for Trade, Economic, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation between Russia and DPRK was held in the spring of 1996 led by Deputy Premier Vitali Ignatenko.

In the message, Yeltsin expressed his hopes for tension reduction on the Korean peninsula and North Korea's continuing observance of the Armistice Agreement.

[14] Vladimir Putin's elevation to prime minister in August 1999 and then president in March had critical significance for Pyongyang, which attributed its previous grievances to Yeltsin's government.

These efforts began to bear fruit in late 1998, and by March 1999, it became possible to agree completely on the text and the initial Treaty on Friendship, Good-Neighborly Relations and Cooperation.

[citation needed] In July 2006 Russia supported United Nations Security Council Resolution 1695, condemning the 2006 North Korean missile test.

Also, On 30 March 2010, President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree implementing intensified United Nations Security Council sanctions against Pyongyang's nuclear programs.

The presidential decree banned the purchase of weapons and relevant materials from the DPRK by government offices, enterprises, banks, organizations and individuals currently under Russia's jurisdiction.

Lavrov told the North Korean official that Pyongyang's November 23 artillery strike on Yeonpyeong island "resulted in loss of life" and "deserves condemnation".

[19] After Putin won the 2012 Russian presidential election, Kim Jong Un congratulated him, writing in a letter "I wish you achievement in your responsible work for building a powerful Russia", expressing belief that the traditional bilateral relations of friendship and cooperation would grow stronger.

Kim had a meeting with President Putin, and also met a number of Russian parliamentarians and state officials in Moscow en route to the Games in Sochi.

These included Valentina Matvienko and Ilyas Umakhanov of the Russian Federation Council, Mikhail Margelov, the chair of the International Affairs Committee of the same body, and Vice Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov.

Korean Central Television (KCTV) also introduced the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics on the day it took place, the 8th, focusing on the presence of Kim Yong-nam.

[28] Following the footsteps of Russia, North Korea became the third country (the second being Syria) to recognise the independence of the breakaway states of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics in Eastern Ukraine.

[4][5] In August, the New York Post reported that North Korea had offered 100,000 troops to help Donbas,[6] but the Russian foreign ministry said this speculation was "completely fake".

[32] In March 2024, Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that otherwise received 13 supports and 1 abstention that would have renewed the mandate of the Panel of Experts that monitor sanctions compliance.

"[34] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed "full support" for Russia's war in Ukraine and pledged stronger strategic ties with Moscow.

[35] The visit raised concerns about potential arms deals where North Korea could supply munitions to Russia in exchange for economic aid and technology to enhance its nuclear weapons program.

[42] A few days after Kim's visit the presidential envoy to Russia's Far East, Viktor Ishayev, said wheat deliveries would begin via the town border of Khasan in September.

Sukhinin went on to say that in 2011 Russia had provided North Korea with 50,000 tonnes of grain on a bilateral basis, as well as with $5 million worth of flour as part of the World Food Programme.

The corresponding decree signed by President Putin specified that Russian companies were prohibited to provide North Korea any technical assistance and advice in the development and production of ballistic missiles.

[48] In March 2015, a Russian official said Moscow and Pyongyang have agreed to discuss the creation of advanced development zones (ru:территория опережающего развития) in Russia's Far East and North Korea.

The move was in line with the United Nations Security Council resolution adopted in early March to penalize North Korea for its fourth nuclear test and long-range missile launch and curb its weapons of mass destruction program.

[40] Kim Jong-un met with Russian Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov in Pyongyang to discuss expanding cooperation in trade, science, and technology.

In November 2015, the head of the Russian delegation to Pyongyang, Colonel General Nikolay Bogdanovsky, and the Vice Chief of the Korean People's Army O Kum-chol signed an agreement on preventing dangerous military activities.

[7] In December 2022, a senior US official said he can "confirm" that Russia's Wagner Group took a delivery of an arms shipment from North Korea to help bolster Russian forces in Ukraine.

As a result, North Korea has been under to a UN arms embargo since it conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, as part of Security Council resolutions - with the support of Russia, which holds veto power.