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Russia and North Korea sign partnership agreement

2024-06-19 15:21:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Russia and North Korea sign partnership agreement

Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a partnership agreement during a meeting in Pyongyang in a bid to expand their economic and military cooperation and cement a united front against Washington. . The agreement includes a pledge of mutual aid if either country is attacked.

Putin's first visit to North Korea in 24 years comes amid growing concerns about an arms deal that would see Pyongyang supply Moscow with ammunition needed for Russia's war in Ukraine in exchange for economic aid and transfers. of technology. Experts say that would increase the threat from North Korea's nuclear weapons and long-range missile programs.

It was not clear what kind of aid the deal, described as a "comprehensive strategic partnership", envisages.

Speaking after a signing ceremony, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called the agreement "the strongest treaty ever" signed between the countries that puts their relationship at the level of an alliance and will facilitate cooperation in various areas including politics, economy, culture and the military.

President Putin said that security and international issues permeated a large part of the talks. Russian state media quoted him as saying that Russia would not rule out developing military-technical cooperation with North Korea under the agreement.

President Putin was met on Tuesday evening by Kim Jong Un, who shook his hand, hugged him twice and rode with him from the airport in a huge motorcade that wound through the capital's brightly lit streets as buildings were decorated with giant flags. Russia and portraits of Putin.

After spending the rest of the night at a state guest house, President Putin attended a lavish welcome ceremony in the city's main square, where he and Kim Jong Un greeted an honor guard and walked a red carpet. The North Korean leader then introduced key members of his leadership including Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui; senior aide and ruling party secretary Jo Yong Won; and his powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong.

Speaking at the start of the talks, the Russian president thanked the North Korean leader for supporting his war in Ukraine, part of what he said was a "war against the hegemonic imperialist policies of the US and its satellites, against the Federation Russian".

He said the two planned to sign a "new foundational document (that) will form the foundation of our long-term ties", highlighting ties that once existed when the Soviet military was fighting the Japanese army on the Korean Peninsula in the latter part of World War II. World and Moscow's support for Pyongyang during the Korean War.

Leader Kim said Moscow and Pyongyang's "fervent friendship" is now even closer than in Soviet times and pledged "full support and solidarity for the Russian government, military and people in carrying out the special military operation in Ukraine to protect sovereignty, security interests and territorial integrity".

He has used similar language in the past, repeatedly saying North Korea supports what he describes as a righteous move to protect Russia's interests and blaming the crisis on the West's "hegemonic policy" led by the U.S. United.

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

United States 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 military technology and aid. Both Pyongyang and Moscow deny allegations that the North Korean arms shipment would violate multiple UN Security Council sanctions that Russia had previously approved.

Along with China, Russia has provided political cover for Kim Jong Un's ongoing efforts to advance his nuclear arsenal, repeatedly blocking US-led efforts to impose new UN sanctions on North Korea. because of his missile tests.

In March, a Russian veto at the United Nations ended UN sanctions monitoring against North Korea over its nuclear program, prompting Western accusations that Moscow is seeking to avoid oversight as it buys weapons from Pyongyang for use in Ukraine.

After the meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Putin walked into a room decorated with their national flags and two identical white and gold tables, where they signed what they described as a comprehensive partnership agreement. . The audience applauded as they exchanged their signed documents.

President Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Pyongyang that the two leaders exchanged gifts after the talks.

Russian media said earlier that Kim Jong Un will host a reception and President Putin is expected to leave for Vietnam on Wednesday evening.

In Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that President Putin's visit to North Korea illustrates how Russia is trying, "desperately, to develop and strengthen relations with countries that can provide it with what it needs to to continue its aggression in Ukraine".

North Korea 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 Strategic Studies. National Security, a think tank run by South Korea's main spy agency. There will likely be talks on expanding cooperation in agriculture, fishing and mining and further promoting Russian tourism in North Korea, the institute's report says.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years, with the pace of Kim Jong Un's rehearsals and joint military exercises involving the United States, South Korea and Japan.

The Koreas are also engaged in Cold War-style psychological warfare with North Korea dropping tons of garbage on the South in balloons, and the South broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda from its loudspeakers. /VOA