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North Korea ratifies defense treaty with Russia

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North Korea ratifies defense treaty with Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (R) after a signing ceremony following their bilateral talks at Kumsusan state residence in Pyongyang, on June 19, 2024. (Kristina Kormilitsyna/POOL/AFP)

North Korea has formalized a mutual defense treaty with Russia, according to state media reports on Nov. 12. The agreement commits both nations to come to each other's aid in the event of an armed attack.

The announcement follows reports of first clashes between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and North Korean soldiers stationed in Russia’s border region of Kursk.

North Korea’s KCNA news agency confirmed that Kim Jong Un ratified the treaty as a decree. “The treaty will take effect from the day when both sides exchanged the ratification instruments,” KCNA reported.

Russian lawmakers unanimously approved the treaty last week, and President Vladimir Putin signed it into law. The agreement, signed in June during Putin’s visit to Pyongyang, mandates immediate military assistance by either nation in the event of an attack.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, during her recent visit to Moscow, expressed solidarity with Russia, saying that Pyongyang would stand with Russia "until the day of victory."

South Korea, Ukraine, and Western nations have accused North Korea of deploying approximately 10,000 troops to support Russia’s war effort. Western governments have also alleged that Pyongyang has supplied Moscow with artillery shells and missiles for use in Ukraine.

The G7 nations last week denounced the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. They voiced concerns that North Korean soldiers might receive training in the use of ballistic missiles, which would violate UN Security Council resolutions.

NATO chief Rutte wants to discuss Russia-North Korea threat with Trump
“We have to work together. So I look forward to sitting down with Donald Trump to discuss how we can face these threats collectively, what we need to do,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.
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Olena Goncharova

Head of North America desk

Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.

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