Russia just sent a gift to North Korea. This gift grunts and squeaks and tweets and quacks. It includes yaks, bears, and cockatoos. 

The animals—more than 70!—will live in North Korea’s Pyongyang Zoo.

The gift is more than a gift. It’s a sign that Russia and North Korea are becoming closer friends. 

The animals flew to Pyongyang aboard a government plane. Officials and experts from the Moscow Zoo rode aboard too. 

Alexander Kozlov is Russia’s Natural Resources Minister. He traveled with the animals. “Historically, animals always have played a special role in relations between states,” he says. “They have been given as a sign of support, kindness, and care.”

One African lion. Two bears. Two domestic yaks. Twenty-five pheasants. Forty mandarin ducks. Five white cockatoos. That certainly wouldn’t fit under a Christmas tree!

In June, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea. He met with its leader, Kim Jong Un. They signed a treaty. This means the countries will work together. Right now, it also means they’ll be working against nations in the West, such as the United States. 

North Korea famously mistreats its people. Russia has invaded Ukraine and done enormous harm to the people there. And the two countries are sharing more than animals. Since the officials’ meeting, up to 12,000 North Korean troops went to Russia. They will help Russia attack Ukraine.

Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. — Proverbs 22:24-25