North Korea and Russia ratify defense treaty

(Seoul) North Korea has ratified a historic defense agreement with Russia, sealing their rapprochement in the context of the war led by Moscow in Ukraine, the official North Korean agency KCNA reported on Tuesday.

The agreement “was ratified in the form of a decree” signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on November 11, specifies KCNA, the day after the announcement in Moscow that Russian President Vladimir Putin also signed this mutual defense treaty.

Concluded during a rare visit by Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang in June, this treaty between these two countries, the bane of the United States, provides in particular for reciprocal “immediate military aid” in the event of an attack against one of the two countries.

According to Kyiv, some 11,000 North Korean soldiers are already deployed in Russia and have started fighting against the Ukrainians on Russian territory, in the Kursk region, a small part of which has been occupied by Ukrainian forces on the offensive since August. The Kremlin has so far evaded questions about this presence of North Korean reinforcements.

The agreement formalizes months of deepening security cooperation between the two countries, communist allies throughout the Cold War.

Russia and North Korea have grown significantly closer since Russia’s attack on Ukraine began in 2022.

The agreement also commits the two countries to cooperate internationally to oppose Western sanctions and coordinate their positions at the United Nations.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui recently visited Moscow where she said her country would “stand firmly with Russian comrades until Victory Day.” She called the offensive against Ukraine a “sacred struggle” and praised the wisdom of Vladimir Putin.