Russia and North Korea sign partnership deal that appears to be the strongest since Cold War – NewsNation

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a new partnership that includes a vow to help each other if either country is attacked, during a summit in Wednesday that came as both faced escalating standoffs with the West. .

It could mark the strongest link between Moscow and Pyongyang since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Putin visited North Korea for the first time in 24 years, as the US and its allies express growing concerns about an arms deal in which the country provides Moscow with badly needed munitions for its war in Ukraine in exchange for assistance. economic and technology transfers that could increase the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile program.

Details of the partnership agreement were not immediately clear, but both leaders described it as a major improvement in their ties.

Kim said the agreement was the “strongest treaty ever” between the two nations, bringing the relationship to the level of an alliance, and pledged full support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Putin said it was an “innovative document” that reflected the shared desire to take relations to a higher level.

Putin said security and international issues occupied a large part of the talks with Kim, according to Russian state media. He was also quoted as saying that Russia would not rule out developing military-technical cooperation with North Korea under the agreement.

Kim was quoted as saying that the agreement was peaceful and defensive in nature. “I have no doubt that it will become a driving force that will accelerate the creation of a new multipolar world,” he said.

Russia and North Korea have also signed cooperation agreements in the fields of health, medical education and science, Russian state media reported, citing the Kremlin website.

Putin was greeted upon his evening arrival by Kim, who shook his hand, hugged him twice and left the airport with him in a limousine in a huge motorcade that drove through the capital’s brightly lit streets, where buildings were decorated with giant Russian flags and portraits of Putin.

After spending the rest of the night in a state-run guest house, Putin attended a lavish welcome ceremony in the city’s main square, where he and Kim greeted a guard of honor and walked across a red carpet. Kim then introduced key members of his leadership, including Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui; main advisor and secretary of the ruling party, Jo Yong Won; and the leader’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong.

The square was filled with what appeared to be tens of thousands of spectators, including children holding balloons and people wearing coordinated T-shirts in the red, white and blue colors of the Russian and North Korean flags. Huge crowds lined the streets to greet Putin’s motorcade, shouting “Welcome Putin” and waving flowers and North Korean and Russian flags.

As the talks began, Putin thanked Kim for North Korea’s support of his war in Ukraine, part of what he said was a “struggle against the imperialist hegemonist policies of the US and its satellites against the Russian Federation.”

Putin praised ties dating back to the Soviet army that fought the Japanese military on the Korean Peninsula in the final moments of World War II, and to Moscow’s support for Pyongyang during the Korean War.

Kim said Moscow and Pyongyang’s “ardent friendship” is now even closer than during Soviet times, and pledged “full support and solidarity with the Russian government, army and people in carrying out the special military operation in Ukraine to protect the sovereignty , security interests and territorial rights”. integrity.”

Kim has used similar language in the past, consistently saying that North Korea supports what he describes as fair action to protect Russia’s interests and attributing the crisis to the West’s “hegemonic policy” led by the US. It was not immediately clear what that support would look like.

North Korea is under heavy UN Security Council sanctions over its weapons program, while Russia also faces sanctions from the United States and its Western partners over its aggression in Ukraine.

U.S. and South Korean officials accuse the North of providing Russia with artillery, missiles and other military equipment for use in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for key military technologies and aid. Both Pyongyang and Moscow deny allegations of North Korean arms transfers, which would violate multiple UN Security Council sanctions that Russia has previously endorsed.

Along with China, Russia has provided political cover for Kim’s continued efforts to advance his nuclear arsenal, repeatedly blocking US-led efforts to impose new UN sanctions on the North over its weapons tests.

In March, a Russian veto at the United Nations ended monitoring of UN sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear program, leading to Western accusations that Moscow is trying to avoid scrutiny by buying weapons from Pyongyang for use. in Ukraine.

Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Pyongyang that the two leaders exchanged gifts after the talks. Putin presented Kim with a Russian-made Aurus limousine and other gifts, including a tea set and a naval officer’s dagger. Ushakov said Kim’s gifts to Putin included artwork depicting the Russian leader.

Russian media previously said that Kim will host a reception and that Putin is expected to leave Wednesday night for Vietnam.

In Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Putin’s visit to North Korea illustrates how Russia is trying, “in desperation, to develop and strengthen relations with countries that can provide it with what it needs to continue to war of aggression that began against Ukraine.”

The North may also seek to increase labor exports to Russia and other illicit activities to earn foreign currency in defiance of UN Security Council sanctions, according to a recent report from the Institute for National Security Strategy , a think tank run by South Korea’s top spy agency. There will likely be talks on expanding cooperation in agriculture, fishing and mining and on promoting Russian tourism in North Korea, the institute said.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years, with the pace of Kim’s weapons tests and combined military exercises involving the United States, South Korea and Japan intensifying in a cycle of retaliation.

The Koreas also engaged in Cold War-style psychological warfare, which involved North Korea dropping tons of trash on the South with balloons, and the South broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda over its loudspeakers.