During a summit in Pyongyang, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership, in a bid to expand their economic and military cooperation.
The partnership includes a vow of mutual aid if either country is attacked. The deal covered areas including trade, investment, security, and cultural and humanitarian ties.
This could mark the strongest bond between Moscow and Pyongyang since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Interestingly, Putin visited North Korea for the first time in 24 years.
Putin said that it was a “breakthrough document” reflecting a shared desire to push relations to a higher level.
As the talks began, Putin thanked Kim for North Korea’s support for his war in Ukraine, part of what he said was a “fight against the imperialist hegemonistic policies of the U.S. and its satellites against the Russian Federation.”
The Russian President’s visit comes amid rising concerns over an arms arrangement in which North Korea provides Russia with badly needed munitions for Russia’s war in Ukraine in exchange for economic help and technology transfers that could increase the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile program.
In a meeting, Putin and Kim spoke face-to-face for about two hours, said Russian state media.
Because of its weapons program, North Korea is under heavy U.N. Security Council sanctions. Russia also faces sanctions by the United States and its Western partners over its war in Ukraine.
A new ride!
In another development, on Wednesday, Vladimir Putin gave Kim Jong Un a Russian-built Aurus limousine, a tea set, and an admiral’s dirk, reported Russia’s state news agency TASS, citing Russian President’s adviser Yuri Ushakov. Reportedly, Putin, in return, received various works of art.
In Pyongyang, on Wednesday, cheering crowds and lavish ceremonies greeted the Russian President, where Kim Jong Un expressed “full support” for Russia’s war in Ukraine. The North Korean leader pledged stronger strategic ties with Moscow.