Kim and Shoigu also visited a weaponry exhibition where the Russian minister was shown “new-type weapons and equipment”, KCNA said in a separate dispatch.
The North Korean leader has been steadfast in his support for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, including, Washington says, supplying rockets and missiles.
During the visit, he told Shoigu “about the weapons and equipment which were invented and produced” under North Korea’s national defence plan and “repeatedly expressed belief that the Russian army and people would achieve big successes”, KCNA added.
Shoigu praised the North Korean military as the “most powerful” in the world during a banquet in Pyongyang, news agency Yonhap reported, citing the Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS).
Shoigu made the remarks while meeting his North Korean counterpart Kang Sun Nam, the report said.
Beijing is North Korea’s most important ally and economic benefactor, their relationship forged in the bloodshed of the Korean War in the 1950s.
Kim told Li that “the Korean people will never forget the fact that the brave soldiers of the Chinese People’s Volunteers shed blood to bring about the war victory”, KCNA reported.
China and the North “will as ever strive to further strengthen the friendship and solidarity”, Kim said, according to the report.