North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged full support for Russia before meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang, according to AP News.
Speaking ahead of the summit, Putin thanked Kim for his support against Ukraine. He also announced that the two countries would sign an agreement to strengthen their partnership as part of a “fight against the imperialist hegemonistic policies of the US and its satellites against the Russian Federation.”
Putin‘s visit comes amid growing concerns over the arms agreement. Under the treaty, North Korea allegedly provides Russia with munitions in exchange for economic aid and technology transfers. However, both Pyongyang and Moscow reject accusations of North Korean arms transfers, which violate numerous UN Security Council sanctions.
North Korea is under tough UN Security Council sanctions over its weapons programme, while Russia also faces sanctions from the US and its Western partners over the war in Ukraine.
Putin is expected to travel to Vietnam on Wednesday evening.
Kim said relations between Moscow and Pyongyang were even closer than they used to be in Soviet times. He also called Putin’s visit an opportunity to strengthen their “fiery friendship.”
Prior to the talks, the North Korean leader welcomed Putin with a lavish ceremony in the city’s main square. There, he introduced key members of the North Korean leadership, including Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, top aide and ruling party secretary Jo Yong Won, and the leader’s powerful sister Kim Yo Jong.
Meanwhile, Putin was accompanied by several senior officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Denis Mantrurov, Defence Minister Andrey Belousov, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Tense relationship
In March, a Russian veto in the United Nations halted monitoring of UN sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear programme. This prompted Western accusations that Moscow was trying to avoid monitoring by buying weapons from Pyongyang for use in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Putin’s visit to North Korea illustrated how Russia was trying “to develop and to strengthen relations with countries that can provide it with what it needs to continue the war.”
North Korea is providing significant munitions to Russia … and other weapons for use in Ukraine. Iran has been providing weaponry, including drones.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have reached their highest point in recent years. The two Koreas also engaged in psychological warfare, with North Korea dropping tonnes of rubbish on the South via balloons and the South broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda through its loudspeakers.
