On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a mutual defense agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who pledged his “full support” for Ukraine.
The vow of military cooperation was part of a strategic contract inked during a conference in Pyongyang, where Putin was making his first visit in 24 years.
“It is really a breakthrough document,” Putin said at a press conference in Pyongyang, adding that it provided, “among other things, for mutual assistance in case of aggression against one of the parties to this treaty,” according to Russian news agencies.
The two countries have been allies since North Korea’s establishment following World War II, and their relationship has become even stronger since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which isolated Putin on the global arena.
The United States and its allies have accused North Korea of supplying Russia with ammunition and missiles for its war in Ukraine, and the treaty was bound to raise concerns about future delivery.
Putin also stated that Russia “does not rule out military-technical cooperation with the DPRK in connection with the treaty that was signed today,” referring to the North using its official name.
Kim referred to Putin as a “dearest friend of the Korean people” and stated that his country “expresses full support and solidarity to the Russian government” over the conflict in Ukraine, which has resulted in a slew of UN sanctions against Moscow.
Putin, in turn, complimented his host Kim, who has been under UN sanctions for a decade over his illegal weapons programs, saying Moscow valued his “consistent and unwavering” support.
Putin stated that the two heavily sanctioned countries would not tolerate Western “blackmail” and that UN sanctions against North Korea should be revisited.
“I am noting that the indefinite restrictive regime inspired by the US and its allies at the UN Security Council towards the DPRK should be reviewed,” Putin said.
Red carpet
Putin landed in Pyongyang before daybreak on Wednesday and was met by Kim on a crimson carpet, where the two embraced and grinned.
They then attended a welcoming ceremony in Kim Il Sung Square, which included a military band and mass synchronised dancing, following which Putin invited his host to Moscow.
The summit, which included a lengthy one-on-one conversation between the leaders, marked their second encounter in a year.
Kim traveled by bulletproof train to Russia’s far east last September for a rendezvous with Putin at a space port.
Needs weapons
The two Koreas have been technically at war since their 1950-53 struggle, and the border between them is one of the world’s most strongly defended.
This week’s visit was a way for Putin to thank the North “for acting as a ‘arsenal for autocracy’ in support of his illegal invasion of Ukraine,” according to Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
According to Kim Sung-bae, senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy in Seoul, it was also part of Russia’s effort to secure “strategic space” in Northeast Asia to counter US influence in the region.
“This intention is further evidenced by Putin’s visit to Vietnam,” he said, with the Russian leader set to fly to Hanoi after his trip to the North.