In a very rare visit to North Korea, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Korea’s Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic pact on Wednesday pledging to come to each other’s assistance in case of a military attack.
This is amidst the ongoing Russia's Special Military Operation in Ukraine as US led NATO declared more support for Ukrainian President.
Vladimir Putin, in this first and official visit to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang since 2000, affirmed that Russia and North Korea “pursue an independent foreign policy and do not accept the language of blackmail and diktat.”
He said: “The comprehensive partnership agreement signed today provides, among other things, for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this agreement"
As United States and other NATO nations ganged up against Russia, President Putin is seeking to maintaining strong ties with partners who share anti-Western stance, including China, Iran and North Korea and other members of the Brics.
Korean leader Kim extolled the “firm alliance” with Moscow and openly backed Russia's special military operations inUkraine, the strongest support for Russia’s invasion from any foreign leader.
According to the Russian leader, “Moscow and Pyongyang will continue to oppose the practice of sanctions strangulation that the West has become accustomed to, calling for a review of U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons program.
"Supporting North Korea’s right to “take justified measures” to ensure its national security has increased Western fears of new Russian military and technological support for North Korea.
Russian President blamed the “confrontational policy” of the United States for undermining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
“We categorically reject the attempts to blame [North Korea] for the worsening situation,” Putin said, adding that Pyongyang was “entitled to take justified measures to strengthen its national defense capacities, ensure national security, and protect its sovereignty.”
Russia for years backed U.N. sanctions against North Korea but in March vetoed a Security Council vote on extending a U.N. panel of experts monitoring sanctions compliance. Since then, senior Russian officials have repeatedly used the term “strangulation” to describe the U.N. sanctions.
Putin first visited North Korea in 2000, shortly after his election as president, becoming the only Russian or Soviet leader to travel to Pyongyang. He wanted to restore his country’s influence over the Korean Peninsula. For the next 24 years, he saw no need to return — until Wednesday.
After an ostentatious welcome ceremony and an afternoon of meetings, the two emerged to announce their shared vision of a united front against the West and the U.S.-led global order. Putin asserted his country’s fight against “decades of imperialist policies” of the United States and its allies. In turn, North Korea promised “full support and solidarity for the Russian government, army and people” in the war in Ukraine, state media agencies reported.
The two leaders signed an agreement on “comprehensive strategic partnership,” Russian media reported. The text was not immediately published, but Russian officials said before the meeting that it would replace previous key documents.
Whatever the ultimate extent of the agreement, it served as a clear rejoinder to President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky just six days after they signed a 10-year security agreement, committing the United States to provide Kyiv with a wide range of military aid.
For decades after the founding of North Korea in 1945, the Soviet Union served as its main economic and security benefactor.
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