Russia’s lower house of parliament on Thursday ratified a bilateral treaty with North Korea that provides for mutual obligations to assist each other militarily in the event of an armed attack.
The treaty was submitted for ratification to parliament by President Vladimir Putin on October 14. Article 4 of the agreement stipulates that “if one of the parties finds itself in a state of war due to an armed attack by one or more states, the other party will immediately provide it with military assistance by all means at its disposal in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and the laws of the DPRK and the Russian Federation.”
There are 23 articles in the treaty, they envisage expansion of co-operation in trade, economy, investment, science and technology, including in the spheres of space and peaceful atom. The agreement is valid indefinitely.
Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko stressed that the treaty is purely defensive in nature, but noted that the document brings the two countries’ relations “to the level of alliance.” The media quoted Rudenko as saying:
“The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between Russia and the DPRK is designed to play a stabilising role in Northeast Asia, will make a positive contribution to maintaining the balance of power in the region based on the principle of indivisibility of security, reducing the risk of a recurrence of war on the Korean Peninsula, including with the use of nuclear means, and generally lays the foundation for building a new Eurasian security system.”
Rudenko also said that Russia and North Korea will be able to apply their strategic partnership treaty if one of the countries is at war.
He added that the pact was concluded now because of the radical change in the geopolitical situation in the region, the increasing presence of US forces and the emergence of new military alliances.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the defence treaty on a visit to Pyongyang in June, but many details remained unclear, including whether Pyongyang would be covered by Moscow’s nuclear umbrella. During a conversation with the North Korean leader, the Russian president then called the treaty “a fundamental document that will form the basis of our relations for the long term.”
