Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik via Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin gifted a car to his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un over the weekend, state media reported Tuesday, the latest goodwill gesture amid deepening ties between their regimes.
The Russian-made car was delivered to Kim’s aides on Feb. 18, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, just a few days after Valentine’s Day. A Kremlin spokesperson confirmed the vehicle was an Aurus, a luxury car manufacturer created in 2018 to make Russia’s official state cars.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Kim had seen the vehicle while visiting Russia and “Putin personally showed it to him, and of course, like many others, he liked this vehicle. That’s why such a decision was made [to gift it to him].”