What the defense agreement between Russia and North Korea includes

Received with great fanfare in Pyongyang, Vladimir Putin thanked Kim Jong-un for his support in the war against Ukraine. The pact signed between the two countries raises concerns in the Western camp.

They claim to fight “together” against the“hegemony” American. Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un signed a historic mutual defense agreement on Wednesday June 19. For the first time in 24 years, the North Korean leader received his Russian counterpart in Pyongyang. He welcomed the advent of a “new era” in relations with Moscow and called the Russian president a “best friend” from his country. “Both Russia and Korea pursue independent foreign policies”, declared Vladimir Putin for his part, in a clear warning to Westerners, worried about seeing such a partnership emerge against a backdrop of war in Ukraine. Franceinfo summarizes what the two leaders wanted to say about this agreement, and why it arouses apprehension.

Pyongyang’s support for Moscow in the war in Ukraine

On Wednesday, Kim Jong-un welcomed Vladimir Putin during a grand ceremony in Pyongyang, with a military fanfare and synchronized dancing. The two leaders then had a long aside. The North Korean government “expresses its full support and solidarity to the Russian government, army and people in the conduct of the special military operation in Ukraine to protect sovereignty, security interests and territorial integrity”declared, after this exchange, Kim Jong-un, addressing Vladimir Putin.

“We very much appreciate your systematic and permanent support of Russian policy, including on the Ukrainian issue”declared the head of the Kremlin in return. “We are grateful to the leaders and people of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea regarding the situation in Ukraine”, continued Vladimir Putin. Since Russian aggression in Ukraine in February 2022, relations between Moscow and Pyongyang, allies since the end of the Korean War (1950-1953), have been in good shape.

This rapprochement worries Americans and Europeans, who accuse the North Koreans of massively delivering munitions and missiles to the Russian army. Reacting to these announcements, Ukraine, through the voice of the presidential advisor, Mykhaïlo Podoliak, urged the international community to “a more rigorous approach to achieving true isolation” from Moscow and North Korea. “We plan to reconsider the issue of supplying weapons to Ukraine”reacted to the press the national security advisor of the South Korean president, the day after the signing of this agreement.

“It’s an army that holds a country. North Korea lives off that. It has considerable stocks, which it gives or sells to the Russians, with compensation”confirms to franceinfo Pascal Dayez-Burgeon, specialist in North Korea. “Russia needs North Korea’s support in weapons due to the protracted war in Ukraine, while North Korea needs Russia’s support in food, energy and cutting-edge weapons to ease the pressure of sanctions”summarizes to AFP Koh Yu-hwan, professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.

“Mutual assistance”, Dongguk “in the event of aggression”

“The Comprehensive Partnership Treaty signed today provides, among other things, for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against a party to the treaty”, Vladimir Putin told the press on Wednesday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, for his part, assured that the agreement was “exclusively peaceful and defensive”. “There is no doubt that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty… will reliably guarantee the alliance between North Korea and Russia for a century and that it fully contributes to maintaining peace and stability in the region”, he said a little later, during a reception in honor of his guest.

The Russian president also added that he “did not exclude military-technical cooperation” with Pyongyang. In reaction, a spokesperson for the American State Department, on the contrary, judged that this “deepening” cooperation between Russia and North Korea “should be of concern to anyone interested in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula”.

An “independent foreign policy” to oppose the United States and “their satellites”

Through the signing of a defense agreement with North Korea, Vladimir Putin confirms his strong opposition to Washington and its allies. “Today, we fight together against the hegemonic and neocolonialist practices of the United States and its satellites”, declared the Russian president on Wednesday. He believes that the UN Security Council sanctions targeting the North Koreans for their nuclear program, “inspired by the United States and its allies”, had to be “reexamined”.

“Both Russia and Korea pursue independent foreign policies and do not accept the language of blackmail and diktat”, he continued. The Russian head of state then described the agreement as “truly revolutionary document”. A way of staging a new strategic axis against the West, the common enemy of the two leaders ostracized by nations.

Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea is the second meeting between the two men in less than a year. In September 2023, Kim Jong-un traveled to a summit with the head of the Kremlin in the far east of Russia aboard an armored train. “This diplomatic gesture represents a turning point not only for East Asian geopolitics, but also for the world order as a whole,” estimates the South Korean daily Hankyorehrelayed by International mailafter this new grandiloquent exchange between the two leaders.

Vladimir Putin’s support allows Kim Jong-un to“reduce your dependence” towards another key ally: China. After his successful visit to Pyongyang, Vladimir Putin landed in Hanoi on Thursday. He also hopes to develop relations between Russia and Vietnam, to which Moscow has sold weapons for decades. An additional diplomatic effort to circumvent the isolation of the Kremlin, caused by international sanctions taken in reaction to the invasion of Ukraine.