Wladimir Putin schenkt Kim Jong-un einen Löwen, zwei Yaks und fünf Kakadus

**From The Telegraph:**

Vladimir Putin has given 70 wild animals to Kim Jong-un as a symbol of friendship, just as [12,000 North Korean conscripts](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/10/23/ukraine-war-north-korea-troops-deployed-russia-us-serious/) are preparing to fighte Ukrainian troops in southern Russia.

The consignment was sent from Moscow Zoo to a zoo in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, Russia said on Wednesday. It included a lion, two bears, a pair of yaks, five white cockatoos, 25 pheasants and 40 mandarin ducks.

Alexander Kozlov, the Russian environment minister, said: “Animals have historically occupied an important place in interstate relations. They were given as a sign of support, kindness and care.”

In a video published by the natural resources ministry, a lion, bears and birds are shown being loaded on to a Russian government plane in large wooden crates.

Kim has become a key ally to Putin since the Kremlin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. He has sent millions of artillery shells and missiles to Russian forces, and has now deployed up to 12,000 conscripts in [Russia’s Kursk region](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/11/12/ukraine-russia-kursk-offensive-latest-news/).

Mr Kozlov said the animals from Russia were young enough to breed, adding: “The Pyongyang zoo needed this so much.”

Under the Kim dynasty, which has ruled North Korea since 1948, famine and shortages have ravaged the country.

In its 2004 guide to North Korea, Lonely Planet wrote that the capital’s zoo was a “depressing and uninspiring place, best avoided”. There have also been reports that some of the estimated 5,000 animals there are baited into fighting each other.

The zoo is home to Azalea, a chimpanzee known for smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, although North Korean officials insist that the animal “doesn’t inhale”.

Conservationists have criticised animal transfers to North Korea, but Mr Kozlov waved away concerns that they would die during the journey or in the zoo’s harsh conditions, saying: “I am sure that the animals and birds will not get sick and will quickly get used to the new place.”

In May, Russia sent [eagles, cranes and parrots](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/08/russia-putin-sends-pythons-eagles-parrots-north-korea-zoo/) to the Pyongyang zoo.

Warlords gifting each other exotic animals like its 1300s.