Putin gifts luxury Aurus car to Kim Jong Un in violation of UN sanctions

Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, received a high-end Russian-made vehicle from President Vladimir Putin.

According to Pyongyang's official media, Kim's top aides received the limousine on Sunday, as per BBC.

Later, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, verified the gift, stating that it was an Aurus, a full-sized luxury vehicle similar to the one that Putin drives.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the two geographically isolated nations have developed a tight relationship.

Despite UN sanctions against both countries, North Korea is believed to be providing Russia with artillery, rockets, and ballistic missiles for the conflict. Both parties deny violating the restrictions.

On September of last year, Kim made his first travel overseas in four years, and Putin welcomed him to the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East.

The North Korean leader was allowed to take a seat in the back seat of Putin's Aurus Senat vehicle after inspecting it during the visit. They also exchanged gifts of weapons.

Kim Jong-un is thought to be an automobile lover who owns a collection of high-end international cars.

According to comments cited by North Korean official news agency KCNA, Kim's sister Yo Jong stated that the "gift serves as a clear demonstration of the special personal relations between the top leaders" of the two nations.

However, the present, according to South Korea's Foreign Ministry, violated UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea, which forbid the supply of some types of vehicles, including luxury cars.

Although there isn't much of a bromance between the two leaders personally—unlike the friendship between Kim and former US President Donald Trump—they both see the advantages of deeper connections, according the BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow.

Russia and North Korea have both stated that Putin will soon pay Pyongyang a visit.