North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a speech marking the country’s founding anniversary on Wednesday thanked service members deployed to Russia amid deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.

According to a Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report Thursday, Kim attended a national flag-hoisting and oath-taking ceremony the previous day at the Pyongyang Assembly Hall to mark the 78th anniversary of the DPRK’s founding. 

Senior officials from the party, government and military, including Premier Pak Thae Song, also joined him at the event.

Kim held up a symbolic red scarf as he kicked off a ceremony pledging loyalty to