SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Tuesday marked the 22nd anniversary of a joint declaration with Russia on bilateral cooperation, casting the two countries' relations as reaching a "new strategic height."

The North's foreign ministry issued the statement on the declaration as Pyongyang has been seen closing ranks with its traditional partner despite Russia's war in Ukraine.

On July 19, 2000, then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il signed the declaration with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a summit in Pyongyang. It affirmed the development of close bilateral cooperation.

"Today, the DPRK-Russia relations are reaching on a new strategic height and entering heyday in its development," the North's foreign ministry said in an English-language post on its website. DPRK stands for the North's official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"The strategic and tactical cooperation between the two countries is growing stronger in the journey for categorically rejecting the high-handedness, arbitrariness, hegemonic acts of the U.S. and its vassal forces," it added.

Pyongyang has recently touted the traditional ties with Russia that has faced international condemnation and isolation over its invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, the North recognized the independence of the pro-Russian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, becoming the third country in the world to do so after Russia and Syria.

Source: Yonhap News Agency