North Korea and Russia signed a mutual defense agreement on Wednesday during a visit to Pyongyang Vladimir Putinwho thanked to the leader of the Asian country, Kim Jong-un, support for the Russian military offensive against Ukraine. The relationship, strengthened in the heat of the war in Ukraine and Pyongyang’s nuclear bet, seeks to promote a new multipolar order that challenges American hegemony.
Kim Jong-un received Putin on the airport tarmac and the streets of Pyongyang were decorated with flags of both countries and giant portraits of the Russian president. The so-called “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement” will replace the diplomatic treaties signed between Moscow and Pyongyang in 1961, 2000 and 2001, as announced by Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s advisor on international politics.
Ushakov said that the new document is necessary due to the profound current geopolitical changes and although he assured that “it will not have any confrontational character, it will not be directed against any country and it will be aimed at guaranteeing stability in Northeast Asia,” Moscow and Pyongyang were responsible for pointing out insistently these days the pressures to which they are subjected by Washington.
Against US hegemony
Putin I declare that “the global association treaty signed today foreseesamong other things, mutual assistance in case of aggression against a party“, specifying that Russia does not rule out military-technical cooperation with North Korea. “Today we fight together against the hegemonic and neocolonialist practices of the United States and its satellites,” added the president, quoted by Russian media, during a gala party in your Honor.
According to Kim Jong-un, the treaty “will reliably guarantee the alliance” between both countries and will “fully contribute to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region.” Western powerswho have been accusing North Korea for months of supplying munitions and missiles to Russia for the war in Ukraine, They fear a reinforcement of military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.
The advisor to the Ukrainian presidency, Mikhaílo Podoliak, accused Pyongyang of helping Russia militarily and demanded stronger measures to isolate both countries. “North Korea today actively cooperates with Russia in the military sphere and deliberately provides it with resources for the mass murder of Ukrainians,” criticized Podoliak.
“Russia and Korea do not accept blackmail”
Putin reiterated that “Russia and Korea pursue an independent foreign policy and do not accept the language of blackmail,” and Kim welcomed a “new era” of bilateral relations. “North Korea expresses its full support and solidarity with the government” in its offensive in Ukraine, which involved a battery of sanctions against Moscow, the North Korean leader highlighted.
Kim Jong-un said the mutual assistance agreement is “defensive” in natureAccording to Russian press agencies, and rated Putin best friend” from North Korea. Putin thanked Kim for North Korea’s “constant and unwavering” support, invited him to visit Moscow and advocated that the sanctions against Pyongyang be “reviewed.”
Putin had a great reception in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square with a military band and a synchronized dance show, very common in ceremonies in North Korea. The leaders then began a meeting, their second meeting in less than a year after Kim visited Russia in September. Putin’s previous visit to the communist country dates back to 2000..
Moscow and Pyongyang have been allies since the end of the Korean War (1950-1953) and have strengthened their relations since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Koh Yu-hwan, professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University , explained that “Russia needs North Korea’s support in weapons due to the war in Ukraine, while North Korea needs Russia’s support in food, energy and advanced weapons to ease sanctions.”
Russia admitted this Wednesday that it has already begun to review its military and nuclear doctrines due to the deterioration of the international situation, largely due to the West’s reaction to the war in Ukraine. “The nuclear deterrence factor plays a crucial role in our security system, that is indisputable and known to everyone,” said Sergei Ryabkov, deputy foreign minister.
Concern in the US and the UK
Pyongyang He called accusations that he supplies weapons to Russia “absurd.” In March, Russia used its veto power in the UN Security Council to end the system of monitoring the sanctions imposed on North Korea, established mainly for its nuclear program. Pyongyang. The United States expressed its “concern” about Putin’s trip due to the implications for the security of South Korea and Ukraine, and Seoul indicated that it followed “closely the preparations” for the visit.
The UK Defense Minister Grant Shappswarned that Putin’s recent visit to North Korea should be taken as a “warning”, so it is necessary to strengthen the Armed Forces to “deter this new axis of tyranny”. Shapps directed that warning internally, since early elections are held on July 4, saying: “The Labor party wants to leave us defenseless while our enemies target us.”
Putin traveled to North Korea with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Andrei Belousov. The Russian president, who is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, reduced his trips abroad, but made some trips to visit key allies such as China. On Wednesday he arrived in Vietnam on his fifth visit to the Southeast Asian country.
Putin is scheduled to meet on Thursday with the secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, the most powerful man in the country. He will also be received by the president, the prime minister and the head of the National Assembly. The Russian leader will lay a wreath at the memorial to the fallen and at the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese leader who died in 1969.
