Putin and Kim laugh and chat in front seat footage from limo drive in Pyongyang

6 months ago
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un gifted Russian President Vladimir Putin a pair of Pungsan dogs, a local breed.

Kim and Putin were seen looking at the dogs tied to a fence covered in roses during a segment aired on he state-controlled Korean Central Television.

The two bonded over animals as Kim fed carrots to a horse while Putin looked on. The two also took turns to drive each other around in a Russian-built Aurus limousine.

Kim, known as a keen horseman, was famously pictured riding a white stallion in Mount Paektu during snowfall in photos released by state media in 2019, flooding the internet with online jokes and memes.

The horses Kim rode are symbolic for North Korea which named its economic effort to recover from the 1950-53 Korean War after the mythical winged horse Chollima. Putin has been pictured shirtless and riding a horse in photos released by Russian state media.

Pungsan dogs are a breed of hunting dogs native to a region in the northern part of North Korea. Former South Korean president Moon Jae-in also received a pair of white Pungsan dogs -- named "Gomi" and "Songgang" -- from Kim in 2018 at a time when inter-Korean relations saw a breakthrough.

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