When Lukashenko visited Pyongyang's Kumsusan mausoleum to pay respects to former North Korean leaders, he laid a bouquet sent by Putin in addition to a flower basket under his own name, North Korean state media KCNA reported.
Lukashenko and his delegation were welcomed by Kim with a 21-gun salute, Pyongyang citizens and school children waving the flags of both countries, and a march-past of the North Korean army's honour guard, KCNA said.
Lukashenko also visited a mausoleum displaying the embalmed bodies of Kim's grandfather and father, the country's first two leaders, according to North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.
Lukashenko, the autocratic ruler of Belarus for over three decades, is a close Kremlin ally and allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory as a staging ground for Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He later authorised the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Kim has also prioritised Russia in recent years, sending thousands of troops and large quantities of weapons to support Russian President Vladimir Putin 's war in Ukraine, while pursuing a more assertive foreign policy aimed at expanding ties with countries that oppose Washington.
During a speech at North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament on Monday, Kim accused the United States of global "state terrorism and aggression," in an apparent reference to the war in the Middle East.
According to Belarus' state news agency Belta, bilateral ties between North Korea and Belarus are on the agenda of the two leaders' talks.
Lukashenko last met Kim in September 2025 in Beijing and was invited to visit North Korea, the agency reported. In 2024, Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov visited North Korea.
Ryzhenkov said the countries will sign a friendship and co-operation treaty during Lukashenko's visit.
with AP
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