President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia will visit North Korea this week for a meeting with its leader, Kim Jong-un, their second in nine months, as the two countries deepen military ties to support Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine with North Korean weapons.

       Mr. Putin last visited North Korea in 2000, when he became the first Russian or Soviet leader to visit the nation. This week’s trip, beginning on Tuesday, highlights North Korea’s growing strategic importance for Mr. Putin, especially its ability to supply badly needed conventional weapons for the war in Ukraine.

       Mr. Kim met with Mr. Putin in Russia’s Far East last September, ushering in a new era of relations between the two countries.

       For Mr. Kim, it was a rare moment of his country, a pariah in the West, being sought after as an ally. For Russia, it’s a strengthening of ties with a country that is providing it with much-needed munitions for its war in Ukraine.

       The two countries announced the two-day visit on Monday. “At the invitation of the chairman of state affairs of the D.P.R.K., Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin will pay a friendly state visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on June 18-19,” the Kremlin said. A presidential aide told Russian state media that Mr. Putin would arrive in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, late on Tuesday evening and hold meetings on Wednesday.

       ？Days before the announcement, the Kremlin？ vowed to foster cooperation with North Korea “in all areas.”

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