New North Korea-Russia pact calls for immediate military aid if invaded
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Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attend a state reception in Pyongyang on June 19.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL – North Korea and Russia have agreed to provide immediate military assistance if either of them faces armed aggression, according to the full text of a landmark pact released on June 20 by Pyongyang after a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
South Korea responded by convening an emergency meeting of its national security council and said it would now consider sending arms to Ukraine, which it had previously ruled out.
Hours after Mr Putin departed for his next stop, Vietnam, North Korea’s state media published the “Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”
The agreement, which Mr Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed on June 19, is one of the highest-profile moves in Asia by Moscow in years. Mr Putin visited China in May, soon after his inauguration for a fifth term as president.
““In case any one of the two sides is put in a state of war by an armed invasion from an individual state or several states, the other side shall provide military and other assistance with all means in its possession without delay in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and the laws of the DPRK and the Russian Federation,” Article 4 of the agreement says, using the initials of North Korea’s official name.
Article 51 of the United Nations Charter provides for the right of a member country to take individual or collective self-defence actions.
Mr Kim echoed Mr Putin’s statement explicitly linking their countries’ deepening ties to fighting the “hegemonic and imperialist” policies of the West and the US in particular, including its support for Ukraine.
It is unclear how the agreement will affect Russia’s war against Ukraine, which began with an invasion in February 2022.
Washington and Seoul have been increasingly alarmed by deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, and have accused the two of violating international laws by trading in arms for Russia to use against Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have said they have found North Korean missile debris inside their country.
However, Russia and North Korea have denied any arms trade.
Following a meeting of its national security council, South Korea said it would further strengthen security cooperation with the US and Japan. Seoul would add 243 new items to a list of goods banned from export to Russia bringing the total to 1,402, and would also review its position on arming Ukraine, national security adviser Chang Ho-jin told a news conference.
Dr Artyom Lukin of Russia’s Far Eastern Federal University said the pact with North Korea would be “Moscow’s first defence alliance outside the post-Soviet space”.
“It remains to be seen how far and how deep Russia and North Korea will go in their alliance relationship this time,” he added. “Will North Korean troops appear in Ukraine? Will Russia provide military assistance to the North in possible North-South clashes over the disputed border in the Yellow Sea? Nothing is off the table now.”
Dr Cho Han-bum of the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul said the agreement was a big win for Russia, laying a legal framework for North Korea’s support in the Ukraine war.
The wording leaves room for Moscow to avoid helping North Korea in border clashes or other future skirmishes if it chooses, he said.
The pledge by the leaders of the two countries, which are facing increasing international isolation, comes amid growing concern among the US and its Asian allies over how much Russia would support North Korea, the only country to have tested a nuclear weapon this century.
The agreement said neither side would sign any treaty with a third country that infringes on the interests of the other and will not allow its territory to be used by any country to harm the other’s security and sovereignty, the state-run KCNA reported.
The two countries will take joint actions aimed at “strengthening defence capabilities to prevent war and ensure regional and international peace and security”, it added.
South Korea said it regretted that the agreement included a pledge of “military technology cooperation”, which would violate UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea’s weapons programmes.
The White House did not immediately have comment on the reported content of the agreement.
Japan expressed “grave concerns” about Mr Putin’s vow not to rule out cooperation with Pyongyang on military technology.
The reaction from China, the North’s main political and economic benefactor, has been muted. A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry declined comment, calling it a bilateral matter between Russia and North Korea.
Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said Russia, a UN Security Council permanent member, has allowed “the most brazen nullification” of all sanctions imposed on North Korea to stop its weapons development.
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the pact showed authoritarian powers are aligning.
On his first visit to Pyongyang
The full text of their agreement also included cooperation on nuclear energy, space exploration, as well as food and energy security.
Mr Cha Du-hyeogn, a former South Korean government official who is now a fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said the mutual defence pledge is similar to the one in the 1961 treaty between the North and the Soviet Union.
But the reference to the UN Charter and each country’s laws is open for interpretation, and it was not clear whether the agreement would constitute an alliance, he said.
“It comes from Kim wanting to put everything in for this agreement, while Putin is being reluctant to do so,” Mr Cha said. REUTERS
