Steph Deschamps / June 20, 2024
North Korea and Russia signed a "comprehensive strategic partnership" on Wednesday, providing for mutual assistance in the event of "aggression", announced Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, welcomed with great fanfare in Pyongyang for a state visit, received the fervent support of his host Kim Jong Un for his war in Ukraine.
"The treaty for a comprehensive partnership signed today provides, among other things, for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against any party to the treaty," Putin told reporters after signing the document. "Both Russia and Korea pursue an independent foreign policy and do not accept the language of blackmail and diktat," he warned.
The Russian president described the agreement as "a truly revolutionary document", adding that Russia "does not rule out military-technical cooperation" with Pyongyang.
Quoted by Russian agencies, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the agreement with Russia was purely "defensive".
Calling Mr Putin, whose first visit to North Korea since 2000, his country's "best friend", he hailed the advent of a "new era" in relations with Moscow.
North Korea "expresses its full support and solidarity to the Russian government, army and people in conducting the special military operation in Ukraine", he declared.
Americans and Europeans are concerned about the accelerating rapprochement between Moscow and Pyongyang, accusing the North Koreans of delivering massive quantities of weapons to Russia.
Last September, Kim Jong Un travelled by armoured train to the Russian Far East for a summit with the head of the Kremlin focused on space.