Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov thanked North Korea for its “fundamental and unequivocal support” in the war against Ukraine, Russian state media RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday.

He also expressed gratitude for North Korea’s recognition of Ukrainian territories illegally annexed by Russia. Syria is the only other country that recognized the illegal annexation, Kyiv Independent reports.

Lavrov was in North Korea a month after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in the Amur region of Russia’s Far East.

He is also scheduled to hold talks with North Korean Foreign Minister Choi Song Hui.

In recent months, reports of strengthening Russia’s ties with North Korea have become more frequent. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on October 13 that North Korea had delivered more than a thousand containers of weapons and ammunition.

Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov denied that North Korea supplies Russia with weapons.