“Close friendship”: Russia and North Korea signed a document on strategic partnership to maintain “long-term” relations

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in North Korea this Wednesday on his first state visit to the country since 2000 to hold talks with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, and promote a strategic partnership.

To welcome him, Pyongyang’s main square was decorated with portraits of the two countries’ leaders, and thousands of residents celebrated Putin and Jong Un to the sound of a military band, flowers and balloons.

After the ceremony in the main square, Putin said that “Russia and North Korea have been linked by strong friendship and close proximity for several decades,” thanking them for their “systematic and constant support for Russian policy, including regarding the Ukrainian issue.”

According to the official Russian news agency TASS, the Russian president also said that the two countries are connected “on the basis of the principles of equality and mutual respect for interests,” and announced that he and the North Korean leader would sign a new document, the “Strategic Partnership Treaty,” which would support relations between the two countries. “Today a new fundamental document is ready that will lay the foundation for our long-term relationship,” the Russian president said, guaranteeing that the two countries have taken “big steps” to strengthen their relationship.

After two hours of conversation, this document, which included an agreement on mutual military assistance in the event of aggression against either side, was signed against the backdrop of the flags of Russia and North Korea.

Last week, Kim Jong-un, who also visited eastern region of Russia Last year, he noted that North Korea and Russia have an “inextricable relationship.” During the same visit last year, the Russian leader said there was scope for greater military cooperation with the North Korean government.

As the war in Ukraine progressed, NATO and the Kiev government itself claimed that North Korea was supplying weapons to Russia, although that country and North Korea have always denied this information.

During a visit to Washington, US, last Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Putin’s visit to North Korea demonstrates “how dependent President Putin and Moscow are now on the authoritarian countries of the world,” adding that “. Russia’s closest friends and biggest supporters of its military efforts are North Korea, Iran and China.” On the same day, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the country was concerned about the “deepening relationship between the two countries.”

Moscow and Pyongyang have been allies since the end of the Korean War, which ran from 1950 to 1953, and strengthened their relationship with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. According to Kim Jong-un, this is a new alliance “at a high level”, and despite the fact that the two leaders have said that they intend to conclude this peace agreement, the North Korean leader has already said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is legal, and Putin has said that North Korea has the right to defend itself.

At this meeting, the Russian President also said that UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea due to its nuclear program should be reviewed. “The regime of open-ended restrictions adopted by the Security Council (…) in relation to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [nome oficial da Coreia do Norte]Inspired by the United States and its allies, it must be revised,” Putin said, as quoted by the French agency AFP.

Together with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Putin said both countries “oppose the use of sanctions for political purposes that only serve to undermine the international situation,” according to the Spanish news agency EFE.