OREANDA-NEWS  Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova received a vase from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong as a New Year's gift, in response sending her portrait by Nikas Safronov. She wrote about this in her Telegram channel.

"Today, the DPRK Ambassador to Moscow, Shin Hong Chol, gave me a gift from Comrade Kim Yo Jong, Deputy head of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, on the occasion of the New Year! I found out about it just last night," the diplomat said.

Zakharova added that despite the "New Year's Eve time constraints," she turned to the artist Safronov. Together, by choosing a photo as a reference, he was able to paint a sangin-style portrait of Kim Yo Jong in one night. According to her, this gift reflects the key features of Kim Jong—un's sister - "tenderness and femininity with strength and determination."

On October 27, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov presented flowers to his North Korean counterpart Choi Song-hee before the start of the talks. Prior to that, on July 12, he visited the DPRK, including the Wonsan resort, which opened for Russian tourists.