The Russian president said Friday that his country will continue to develop its nuclear arsenal, days after signing a new mutual defense pact with Kim Jong Un.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, on his first visit to North Korea in 24 years, signed a mutual defense pledge with Kim Jong-un on Wednesday. Greeted with great fanfare by a jubilant crowd and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un,

In a signal that Russia, a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council, is reassessing its entire approach to North Korea, Putin praised Pyongyang ahead of his arrival for resisting what he said was U.S. economic pressure, blackmail and threats.