OAN’s James Meyers
11:05 AM – Wednesday, June 19, 2024
During a Wednesday summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reportedly signed a new partnership deal that includes a mutual vow of consistent aid if either country is attacked.
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The deal, which both leaders said covers security, trade, investments, as well as cultural and humanitarian agreements, could represent the strongest ties between the two countries since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Both leaders also noted that the outcome of this deal was a major upgrade of their relations.
The two met on Tuesday after Putin landed in North Korea for the first time in 24 years. The Russian president was greeted with a firm, friendly handshake by Kim and a bouquet of roses that was handed to him by a Korean woman in a pink and purple dress.
Kim further emphasized that this was the “strongest-ever treaty” between the two countries, putting the partnership at the level of an alliance. He also said that North Korea stands by Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Additionally, Putin remarked that this was a “breakthrough document,” reflecting a shared desire to move relations to a much higher level.
The two leaders rode together in a limousine in a huge motorcade that rolled through the capital’s brightly illuminated streets, with buildings covered in Russian flags and a wide array of Putin portraits.
After spending the night at a state guest home, Putin attended a welcoming ceremony at the city’s main square, filled with thousands of spectators, including children holding balloons and people wearing coordinated t-shirts in the red, white, and blue colors of the Russian and North Korean flags.
The summit comes as the U.S. and its allies have expressed concerns over an arms arrangement in which North Korea provides Moscow with needed munitions for its war in Ukraine. As a result, the U.S. claimed it would be in exchange for economic aid and technology transfers that could increase the threat of Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile program.
Meanwhile, North Korea has faced heavy scrutiny from U.N. Security Council sanctions over its weapons program, while Russia also faces sanctions by the U.S. and its Western allies over its war in Ukraine.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Putin’s visit to North Korea illustrates how Russia tries “in desperation, to develop and to strengthen relations with countries that can provide it with what it needs to continue the war of aggression that it started against Ukraine.”
Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, highlighted that Putin’s visit showed he was “dependent” on authoritarian leaders for support.
“Their closest friends and the biggest supporters of the Russian war effort – war of aggression – [are] North Korea, Iran and China,” he said.
Along with China, Russia has provided reinforcement for Kim’s efforts to advance his nuclear arsenal, repeatedly blocking U.S.-led efforts to impose new U.N. sanctions on the North over its weapons tests.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are also at their highest point in several years, with the increase of both Kim’s weapons tests and increased combined military exercises that involved the U.S., Japan and South Korea.
North and South Korea have also engaged in Cold War-style warfare recently, which involved North Korea dropping balloons filled with trash on the South, and the South broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda with its loud speakers in response.
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