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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A new agreement reached between the leaders of Russia and North Korea at a summit in Pyongyang calls for the two countries to provide immediate military assistance using all available means in the event of war, North Korean state media reported.
??????? | Putin and Kim Jong-un traveled in a car during the Russian president’s state visit to North Korea, with the Russian president himself encouraged to drive a car that was later given to the North Korean leader. pic.twitter.com/oCSoELRgvx
— Alerta News 24 (@AlertNews24) June 20, 2024
Both North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the agreement as an important improvement in bilateral relations between the two countries, covering issues such as security, trade, investment, and cultural and humanitarian relations. Outside observers said the agreement could mark the closest ties between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War.
The Korean Central News Agency (KNCA), which reported the contents of the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement on Thursday, said Article 4 of the agreement stipulates that if one of the countries is invaded and falls into a state of war, the other country must “immediately use all available means” to provide “military and other assistance.”
The summit comes as the United States and its allies have expressed concern about a possible arms deal under which Pyongyang would provide Moscow with munitions needed for its war in Ukraine in exchange for economic aid and technology transfers, which could increase the threat of North Korean nuclear weapons and missiles.
After the summit, Kim said the two countries had an “indestructible friendship” and that the agreement was the “strongest treaty ever established” that puts the relationship at the level of an alliance. He pledged his full support for Russia in its war in Ukraine.
Putin called it an “important document” that reflected the shared desire to elevate relations between the two countries to a higher level.
North Korea and the former Soviet Union signed a treaty in 1961 that experts say obliged Moscow to intervene militarily if North Korea was attacked. The agreement was scrapped after the Soviet Union’s collapse and replaced with a 2000 pact with weaker security guarantees.
The new agreement also stipulates that Pyongyang and Moscow may not sign agreements with third parties or engage in actions that threaten the other party’s “core interests” if the third party infringes on those interests, according to the ACNC.
The treaty requires countries to take measures to prepare for joint operations, strengthen defense capabilities, prevent war and protect regional and global peace and security, the agency said, without specifying what those measures are or whether they include joint military training and other cooperation.
The agreement also calls on the countries to actively cooperate in developing plans to establish a “new just, multipolar world order” and emphasizes how the two countries can ally as they deal with their respective disputes with the United States, ACNC reported.
In recent months, Kim has made Russia a priority, pursuing a foreign policy aimed at expanding ties with the country at odds with Washington, embracing the idea of a “new Cold War” and trying to present a united front in the most difficult conflict between Putin and the West.
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