Russian President, Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un have signed a comprehensive strategic partnership pact.
The document will reportedly replace treaties from 1961 and 2000-2001.
Putin’s Foreign Policy Adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said that this was due to “the deep evolution of the geopolitical situation in the world and the region.”
Ushakov added that the new document complies with all fundamental principles of international law and is not of any confrontational nature.
He said that it will not be directed against any individual countries but is aimed at ensuring greater stability in the northeast Asian region.
The Kremlin’s website indicated that the agreement also included “cooperation in the field of healthcare, medical education and science.”
It came as Putin and Kim concluded one-on-one talks that lasted about two hours.
Speaking after the talks, Putin disclosed that the pair discussed world affairs and the global agenda a lot, and that Moscow and Pyongyang stood together against the politically motivated sanctions regimes of others.
Putin stated, “The comprehensive partnership agreement signed today also provides for the provision of mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this agreement.”
Putin added, “The Russian Federation does not rule out military-technical cooperation with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in accordance with the document signed today.”
Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov confirmed that the agreement signed between Russia and North Korea contains a mutual defence clause.
He told Russian media, “In accordance with article four of the treaty, there is an agreement to provide assistance to each other in the event of aggression against any contracting country.”
In his speech after the meeting with Vladimir Putin, North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un called the deal the “strongest ever treaty” signed between the two countries, elevating their relationship to the level of an alliance.
He was quoted as saying that the pact would lead to closer political, economic and military cooperation.
He hailed the agreement as a “significant and historic moment,” adding, “I have no doubt it will become a driving force accelerating the creation of a new multipolar world.”
Kim described Putin as “the dearest friend of the Korean people.”
“At this moment, when the whole world is paying close attention to Pyongyang, where the friendship mission from Russia has arrived, I stand with Russian comrades – our most honest friends and comrades.”
Kim Jong Un
Putin also laid a wreath at a monument to soldiers of the Sovier Union who lost their lives liberating the Korea peninsula from Japanese occupation.
He will later head to Vietnam.
Kremlin Says Moscow And Pyongyang Cooperation Not Directed Against Any Third Countries
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov said that the accusations that Russia and North Korea are building an anti-western alliance are completely incorrect.
The west has accused North Korea of supplying armaments to Russia in order to bolster its supplies since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The claims have been denied.
“Virtually everything they [the West] do is, in one way or another, directed against us. And we, on the contrary, are building relationships, especially with our neighbours. Not against anyone, but for the benefit of ourselves.
“For the benefit of the interests of the peoples of our two countries. Russian-Korean cooperation is not directed against any third countries.”
Dmitry Peskov
Earlier, Rodion Miroshnik, who now acts as an “Ambassador-at-large” for Russia’s foreign ministry, said that Putin’s visit to North Korea and “agreements break the international agenda of westerners, so lovingly built in recent months.”
“The conspiracy theories of western representatives simply lose their meaning. Russia and the DPRK have strategic partnerships,” he asserted.
“Now a lot of analysts are discussing how these relations will affect the Ukrainian track,” he added.
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