Donbas separatist leader urges cooperation with North Korea - KCNA

FILE PHOTO: Head of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin speaks to the media outside the prison, which was damaged by shelling in July in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict, in the settlement of Olenivka in the Donetsk Region, Ukraine August 10, 2022, in this picture taken during a media tour organised by the Russian Defence Ministry. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea and the Russian-backed separatist Donetsk region of Ukraine will develop "equally beneficial bilateral cooperation", Donetsk leader Denis Pushilin said in a letter to Kim Jong Un, North Korean state media reported on Wednesday.

In July, North Korea recognised the Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republics (LPR) in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, as independent states.