Russia and North Korea agreed to provide assistance to each other if either country is attacked, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday.
Putin made the remark during a press conference with Kim after signing a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, saying the pact commits each other to provide mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of them, according to Russian news reports.
Putin also said Russia does not rule out military-technical cooperation with North Korea, and that the U.N. sanctions regime against North Korea should be revised, according to Russian news reports.
Kim said relations between the North and Russia have been upgraded to the level of alliance.
“Relations between our two nations rose to a new high of alliance,” Kim said. “It is greatly satisfying to conclude a great treaty that befits a changed international situation and the strategic nature of new DPRK-Russia relations.”
The two leaders met ag
ain nine months after they held a summit in Russia’s Far East last September, as Russia, under international sanctions over its war with Ukraine, has been bolstering military and other cooperation with North Korea.
Since the Kim-Putin summit last year, the two nations have been bolstering military ties, with the North being accused of supplying Russia with ammunition for use in Moscow’s war in Ukraine in exchange for aid and suspected technological assistance for its space program.
Putin’s trip came amid concerns that the two nations have been strengthening military cooperation beyond arms transactions as they are forming a united front against what they called U.S.-led hegemony.
Source: Yonhap News Agency