Lhe Russian President Vladimir Putin assured North Korea on Tuesday of his country’s “unwavering support” against the “cunning, dangerous and aggressive enemy”, a few hours before his arrival in Pyongyang for an exceptional visit, preceded by incidents on the inter-Korean border.
Mr. Putin is due to make a state visit to North Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday, after which a strategic partnership agreement could be signed between these two countries whose alliance the West perceives as a threat.
“Russia supported (North Korea) and its heroic people in their struggle to defend their right to choose the path of independence, originality and development for themselves in the confrontation with the cunning enemy , dangerous and aggressive, yesterday and tomorrow as well, and it will unwaveringly support them in the future,” Mr. Putin wrote in an article published by the official North Korean daily Rodong Sinmun and the KCNA agency.
He also said that Pyongyang “firmly supports” the Russian military offensive in Ukraine and thanked it.
A rapprochement that worries the West
Americans and Europeans have been worried for months about the accelerated rapprochement between Moscow and Pyongyang, accusing the North Koreans of delivering munitions to Russia for its assault on Ukraine in exchange for technological, diplomatic and food assistance.
This visit “shows the extent to which President Putin and Moscow are now dependent on authoritarian countries around the world. Their closest friends and biggest supporters of the Russian war effort – the war of aggression – are North Korea, Iran and China,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg commented on Monday. from Washington, stressing that Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, is now “violating sanctions” imposed on North Korea
Strategic partnership
“What concerns us is the deepening of the relationship between these two countries, not only because of the impact it will have on the Ukrainian people, because we know that North Korean ballistic missiles are still used to strike Ukrainian targets, but also because there could be some reciprocity that could affect the security of the Korean peninsula,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told Russian media that “important, very significant documents” will be signed, referring to “the possible conclusion of a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement.”
“This treaty, if it is signed, will of course be conditioned by the profound evolution of the geopolitical situation in the world and in the region and by the qualitative changes which have recently taken place in our bilateral relations,” he said. it belongs.
The master of the Kremlin is accompanied by his head of diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, and his Minister of Defense, Andreï Beloussov.
This trip to North Korea comes nine months after Mr. Putin welcomed Kim Jong Un to the Russian Far East, a visit during which the two men showered each other with praise but without concluding, officially less, okay.
This is only the second visit to North Korea by the Russian leader, who last visited nearly a quarter of a century ago, shortly after he came to power, to meet with the father of Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong-il.
Incidents at the border
Hours before Mr. Putin’s scheduled arrival in Pyongyang, incidents broke out on the inter-Korean border. According to the South Korean general staff, “several dozen North Korean soldiers crossed the military demarcation line”, before retreating under warning fire from the South. This is the second such incursion in less than two weeks.
A 4 km demilitarized zone (DMZ) has separated the two enemy states since 1953. The North and South Korean parts of the DMZ are heavily fortified, but the demarcation line itself, located in the middle of the zone, is not is only materialized by simple panels.
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