Vladimir Putin signs mutual defense agreement with North Korea

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the mutual defense treaty with North Korea, whose soldiers are already, according to kyiv and Washington, on the verge of joining the Russians fighting Ukrainian forces. Concluded during a rare visit by Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang in June, this treaty between two black beasts of the United States, provides in particular “immediate military aid” reciprocal in the event of an attack against one of the two countries. The upper house of the Russian Parliament ratified this treaty on November 8, which still had to be signed by the Russian president to enter into force. The Kremlin published the law ratifying the treaty on its website on Saturday evening.

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.

President Putin described the agreement in June as “revolutionary document”. Citing intelligence reports, South Korea, Ukraine and the West say North Korea has deployed around 10,000 troops to Russia to fight Ukraine. Asked publicly about the deployment last October, the Russian president did not deny it, instead deflecting the question to criticize Western support for Ukraine.