MOSCOW, Nov 20, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has gifted North Korea dozens of animals, including a lion and two bears, as a sign of friendship between Moscow and Pyongyang, Russian officials said Wednesday.

The two countries have deepened political, military and cultural ties amid Russia's offensive on Ukraine, with Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un repeatedly professing their personal camaraderie.

"An African lion, two brown bears, two domestic yaks, five white cockatoos, 25 pheasants of various species and 40 mandarin ducks were transferred from the Moscow Zoo to the Pyongyang Zoo," Russia's natural resources ministry said in a post on Telegram.

It posted a video of the animals in cargo boxes being unloaded off a government plane, and another of the lion in its new enclosure at the Pyongyang Zoo.

Putin previously gifted Kim 24 purebred horses, known to be Kim's favourite, while Kim sent Putin a pair of local dogs.

The two countries, both under heavy Western sanctions, signed a mutual defence pact earlier this year that obligates them to provide immediate military assistance if the other is invaded.

Western capitals, as well as Ukraine and South Korea, say North Korea has recently deployed more than 10,000 of its troops to Russia, to be sent into combat against Kyiv's forces.