Russia has sent a gift of more than 70 animals to North Korea for the Pyongyang Zoo, including bears, yaks, ducks and cockatoos.
In another sign of the growing cooperation between the countries, the animals were flown to Pyongyang aboard a government plane, escorted by officials and experts from the Moscow Zoo, according to a government statement released Wednesday.
“Historically, animals always have played a special role in relations between states. They have been given as a sign of support, kindness and care,” Russia’s Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov, who traveled with the animals, said in televised remarks.
The delivery included an African lion, two bears, two domestic yaks, 25 pheasants, 40 mandarin ducks and five white cockatoos, the statement said.
In June, President Vladimir Putin traveled to North Korea, where he met with its leader, Kim Jong Un. They signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” that was the strongest link between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War. Both countries have been targeted by Western sanctions.
Since then, U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments say up to 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia to fight against Ukraine.
In this photo taken from video released by the Moscow Zoo official telegram channel on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, workers handle boxes at the International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, containing animals and birds sent as a gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Moscow Zoo official telegram channel via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by the Moscow Zoo official telegram channel on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, lion is seen in an enclosure in the zoo of Pyongyang in North Korea after being delivered as a gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Moscow Zoo official telegram channel via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by the Moscow Zoo official telegram channel on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, a lion is seen at the International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea being carried aboard a plane that flew animals and birds to Pyongyang's zoo as a gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Moscow Zoo official telegram channel via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by the Moscow Zoo official telegram channel on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, a box containing a white cockatoo is unloaded from a Russian cargo plane at the International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea after being delivered as a gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Moscow Zoo official telegram channel via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, brought some Christmastime cheer to patients and their families at a children's hospital on Friday but a toddler in a light blue jumper entertained, too.
The president and first lady visited privately with patients and their families for photos at Children's National Hospital before Jill Biden read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" to a group of patients in the atrium. As she read, the president, seated beside her in a matching red chair, played a game of catch with the toddler. Biden made faces at the child and at one point briefly got him to sit up on his chair.
“Reading and entertainment,” Jill Biden said after she finished reading. The audience laughed.
The president then asked permission to make a brief statement and sought to lift the children's spirits, saying he knows it's a “tough time” for them to be in the hospital.
“Keep the hope,” he said. "You're in our prayers, you're in our thoughts, and thank you for letting us join you.”
The visit continued a tradition, dating back to first lady Bess Truman, of presidents’ wives bringing holiday cheer to children who are too ill to be at home for Christmas.
President Biden has joined his wife on all four of her annual visits. It has not gone unnoticed.
“We've never had a president join for four years in a row straight, so you have set a high bar,” Michelle Riley-Brown, president and CEO of the hospital, told him.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, as she reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, visit patients and families at the Children's National Hospital in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, as she reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, visit patients and families at the Children's National Hospital in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, as she reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, visit patients and families at the Children's National Hospital in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, as she reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, visit patients and families at the Children's National Hospital in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, as she reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, visit patients and families at the Children's National Hospital in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, as she reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, visit patients and families at the Children's National Hospital in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
