Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered to sign the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Russia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Russian media reported.
The presidential order published on the official portal of legal information reads:
“To accept the proposal of the Russian Foreign Ministry, coordinated with the interested federal state bodies and organisations, to sign the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the Russian Federation and the DPRK.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry is allowed to make changes to the draft of the Treaty during the negotiations on signing the Treaty that are not of principal nature. The document reads:
“Consider it expedient to carry out the signing of the Treaty envisaged by this order at the highest level.”
Russian President’s visit to North Korea
Vladimir Putin arrived in North Korea on Tuesday, the Kremlin said. The Russian president’s June 18-19 friendly state visit is his first trip to the neighbouring country in 24 years.
Putin will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang. It will be their second meeting in less than nine months.
The visit is expected to further strengthen the alliance between the two countries.
Putin said Russia has “invariably supported” North Korea and will continue to back it against “economic pressure, provocations, blackmail and military threats” by the US against Pyongyang. He also said:
“We are also ready to co-operate closely to bring more democracy and stability to international relations.”
Mr Putin is expected to receive a grand reception in Pyongyang. Satellite images taken by Planet Labs and Maxar Technologies show preparations for a grand parade in the city’s central square underway, with a grandstand erected on the eastern side.
Mr. Putin will stay at the Kumsusan Guest House, a grand state building that hosted Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2019. He is scheduled to attend a concert and an Orthodox church in the capital.
Putin is accompanied by Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.
The US expressed concern
Speaking about Putin’s visit, the White House said the US was concerned about deepening co-operation between Moscow and Pyongyang. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday:
“We’re not concerned about the trip. What we are concerned about is the deepening relationship between these two countries.”
Mr. Kim boasted of increased production ahead of the Russian leader’s visit, visiting munitions factories last week. He showed warehouses filled with ballistic missiles.
The US and its allies accuse North Korea of supplying arms to Russia in exchange for food, fuel and foreign currency, as well as helping Moscow with its nascent military satellite programme and space exploration.
Allegations regarding North Korea’s arms shipments to Russia became particularly active after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid a visit to Russia last September. During his visit, Kim met with President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region in the Far East. During the talks, they discussed the development of bilateral relations.
Earlier, the EU reneged on its promise to provide Ukraine with 1 million shells by March 2024. European Commission foreign policy spokesman Peter Stano acknowledged the impossibility of fulfilling that pledge at a briefing in January. However, Mr. Stano called Mr Borrell’s promise a “political goal”, adding that EU member states had done their best.
