https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107444/23/1074442364_0:181:2995:1866_1920x0_80_0_0_da935dd29dc6f40e18e64e4d57b4d60e.jpg.webpThe Kremlin announced on September 11 that Chairman of the State Council of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong-un would visit Russia at the invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The North Korean leader arrived in Russia on Tuesday, with his first stop being the Primorsky region's Khasan station, where he was welcomed by a Russian delegation.Moscow has maintained longstanding relations with Pyongyang, which originated at the very beginning of the Cold War era. How did this relationship start?When Did Moscow Establish Relations With North Korea?Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the DPRK were established on October 12, 1948, soon after the foundation of the North Korean state on September 9, 1948.Prior to that, the Red Army had liberated Korea from Japan's occupation. On August 8, 1945, the USSR declared war on Japan and on August 9 began military operations against the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria and Korea. The successful missions were conducted by Red Army troops in cooperation with the Soviet Pacific Fleet and the Red Banner Amur Military Flotilla.The Japanese forces were defeated. On August 14, 1945 Japanese Emperor Hirohito broadcast the surrender to the Japanese people on Radio Tokyo. Thus, August 15 became the national liberation day for both North and South Korea.On September 8, 1945, the US military, which was an ally of the USSR at the time, landed on the Korean Peninsula. The governments of the US and the USSR reached an agreement that Korea would be divided along the 38th parallel into northern and southern zones in order to more effectively organize the surrender of the Japanese Army.However, shortly after the end of the Second World War, the Cold War started, marked by Winston Churchill's famous "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster College in Fulton on March 5, 1946.South Korea was the first to distance itself from the North. On August 15, 1948 the pro-US Republic of Korea (or South Korea) was established in Seoul, led by the strongly anti-communist Syngman Rhee.In response, Pyongyang declared the formation of the DPRK with Kim Il-sung taking the reins of the North Korean government.The withdrawal of Soviet troops from the DPRK was completed on December 26, 1948 and a new chapter of cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow began. The Soviet Union played a substantial part in the restoration of the DPRK economy. The USSR funded the construction of heavy industry enterprises in North Korea; dispatched Soviet civil specialists; as well as supplied food, fuel, and transport.How Did the USSR Help North Korea During the Korean War?Meanwhile, in the late 1940s, the Cold War between the "capitalist" and "socialist" camp erupted. In the 1950s, the US started its overseas operations in Southeast Asia under the pretext of the later debunked "domino effect" concept.A memorandum from the Board of National Estimates to the Director of Central Intelligence, dated June 9, 1964, explained that the "'domino effect' appears to mean that when one nation falls to communism the impact is such as to weaken the resistance of other countries and facilitate, if not cause, their fall to communism."After five years of simmering tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the Korean War started on June 25, 1950, with Seoul and Pyongyang laying the blame for the beginning of the conflict at each other's door. Just two days later, on June 27, 1950, US President Harry Truman announced that the US was entering the war on the side of South Korea to repel North Korea's "invasion."Judging from historical documents, on October 1, 1950, when American and South Korean troops were advancing to the north of the Korean peninsula, Chairman Kim Il-sung sent a letter to his Soviet counterpart Joseph Stalin requesting military assistance. Moscow immediately responded to the request.In early October, the USSR and the DPRK agreed on transferring Chinese military volunteers into North Korea, while the Soviet General Staff was assigned to form a fighter aviation corps in Northeast China. This air corps operational group was created by order of the Soviet General Staff No. 5564 of November 15, 1950.The Soviet Air Force played a crucial role in upholding North Korea's sovereignty. Legendary Soviet fighter pilot Ivan Kozhedub - credited with over 60 solo victories during the Second World War - was sent by Moscow along with other pilots to the DPRK.According to some estimates, Soviet MiG-15 fighter jets flew a total of 64,000 combat sorties, taking part in more than 1,900 air battles during the Korean War. As a result, the US lost 1,100 aircraft, including 651 then-ultra-modern F-86 fighters, in the course of the conflict. For comparison's sake, the USSR lost 319 warplanes.On July 27, 1953, hostilities ceased, with the warri
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