SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The new agreement between Russia and North Korea reached by their leaders during a summit in Pyongyang requires both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance in the event of war, state media reported. North Korean.
Both North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin had described the agreement as an important improvement in their bilateral relationship, covering issues of security, trade, investment, and cultural and humanitarian ties. Outside observers say the pact could mark the strongest connection between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War.
The Korean Central News Agency (KNCA) reported the content of the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement on Thursday. The agency said Article 4 of the agreement states that if one of the countries is invaded and pushed into a state of war, the other must deploy “all means at its disposal without delay” to provide “military and other assistance.” ”.
The summit came as the United States and its allies expressed concern about a possible arms deal in which Pyongyang would supply Moscow with ammunition for its war in Ukraine in exchange for economic aid and technology transfer that could increase the threat posed by the program. North Korean nuclear weapons and missiles.
After the summit, Kim said that both countries have an “unbreakable friendship” and that the agreement was “the strongest treaty ever established,” placing the relationship at the level of an alliance. He pledged to fully support Russia in its war in Ukraine.
Putin called it a “momentous document” that reflects shared desires to take their relations to a higher level.
North Korea and the former Soviet Union signed a treaty in 1961 that experts said required Moscow’s military intervention if North Korea was attacked. The agreement was scrapped after the fall of the USSR and replaced by one, signed in 2000, that offered weaker security guarantees.
According to the ACNC, the new agreement also establishes that Pyongyang and Moscow must not sign pacts with third parties if they infringe the “core interests” of the other and that they must not participate in actions that threaten these interests.
The news agency said the treaty requires countries to take measures to prepare joint actions to strengthen their defense capabilities to prevent war and protect regional and global peace and security. The agency did not specify what those measures are, or whether they would include combined military training and other cooperation.
The agreement also calls on the countries to actively cooperate on plans to establish a “just and multipolar new world order,” the ACNC reported, underscoring how the countries are aligning as they both grapple with separate disputes with the United States.
In recent months, Kim has made Russia his priority by promoting a foreign policy aimed at expanding relations with countries at odds with Washington, embracing the idea of a “new Cold War” and trying to show a united front in the most difficult conflicts. Putin’s broad relations with the West.
