North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin interact with Pungsan hunting dogs in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, June 20. Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gave a pair of Pungsan hunting dogs to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a gift after their summit talks in Pyongyang, the North's state media reported Thursday, the same breed Kim had gifted former President Moon Jae-in with back in 2018.

Kim presented the dogs to Putin while on a stroll in the garden of the Kumsusan Guest House after they signed an agreement on boosting their relations to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" at their summit on Wednesday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The KCNA said that Kim presented the pair of "our national Pungsan dogs" to Kim and Putin expressed thanks in return.

The Pungsan dog was the breed that Kim had given to Moon as a "peace gift" when they had summit talks in Pyongyang in September 2018, a time when nuclear diplomacy was in full swing with Moon's peace drive.

Moon had raised the two dogs at the Cheong Wa Dae presidential compound before returning them to the government in November 2022, six months after his term ended, citing legal grounds and a lack of support.

Kim and Putin also rode together the Aurus luxury limousine, a gift from Putin to Kim, around the garden driveway, the KCNA said. Russian media reported Wednesday that another Aurus car was gifted to Kim by Putin, after the first one that he gave to Kim in February.

Giving a vehicle as a gift to Kim constitutes a violation of U.N. Security Council sanctions banning the supply, sale and transfer of luxury items to North Korea, under Resolution 2397 adopted in December 2017.

The KCNA said that Kim and Putin had a "friendly and sincere" conversation while walking along the path in the rose garden, and discussed "important plans to further strengthen the strategic partnership and alliance between the two countries, as well as to safeguard the shared core interests." (Yonhap)