Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has asked North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui to let the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, know that relations between Russia and North Korea are "going according to plan".

Putin last met Kim in person on 3 September in Beijing, where the leaders held official talks following a military parade hosted by China's President Xi Jinping. At the time, Putin commended North Korean soldiers for fighting "courageously and heroically" in the war in Ukraine.

Kim Jong Un made the comments at the groundbreaking ceremony for a memorial for North Korean soldiers who fought for Russia in its war with Ukraine, state media said.