Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un finalized a comprehensive agreement Wednesday to enhance strategic cooperation between their two countries, signaling a growing intent to challenge the U.S.-led world order.
Text of the pact released by North Korean state media indicates Moscow and Pyongyang have agreed to provide one another with “military and other assistance” in the event that “any one of the two sides is put in a state of war.” If there is a “direct threat of armed invasion” against either power, the two states plan to “operate the channel of bilateral negotiations for the purpose of adjusting their stands at the request of any one side” and communicate “feasible practical measures to ensure mutual assistance for removing the prevailing threat.”
Both sides further committed to not sign agreements with any “third country” that infringes on the other’s proclaimed “sovereignty [and] security.” The leaders also agreed to greater cooperation on trade, artificial intelligence, so-called “peaceful” nuclear energy, and other matters.
Putin and Kim Jong-Un signed the pact during Putin’s official visit to North Korea this week. The trip marked the first time Russia’s president has visited the Hermit Kingdom in nearly 24 years, according to Reuters. The two leaders previously met in Russia in September, in which they reportedly discussed “military cooperation, the war in Ukraine and Russian help for North Korea’s satellite programme.”
Moscow and Pyongyang have reportedly heightened the exchange of military-related goods with one another since the September summit. While North Korea
