North Korean leader Kim Jong Un officially approved the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty signed with Russia on Monday (November 11), agreeing to mutual assistance in case of armed aggression against either North Korea or Russia, and to strengthen cooperation in the defense field.
Kim Jong Un and Putin reached the agreement on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty during their summit in Pyongyang in June of this year, considering this agreement as a significant upgrade in the relationship between the two countries. The statement at the time indicated that this cooperation elevated the North Korea-Russia relationship to an “alliance” level, promising closer cooperation in the face of external threats.
According to the treaty provisions, if North Korea or Russia enter a state of war, both countries will “immediately provide military support and other forms of assistance, utilizing all means necessary to aid each other.”
The Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim Jong Un on Monday signed a decree approving the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, while Putin had already signed federal legislation approving the treaty. The treaty will formally come into effect after the two countries exchange ratification documents.
Currently, North Korea has dispatched tens of thousands of soldiers to support the Russian military in the war in Ukraine.
The international community has condemned the increasingly strengthened military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.
The Group of Seven industrialized nations (G7) and the foreign ministers of three allied countries issued a joint statement on the 5th, condemning in the “strongest terms” the growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, pledging to collectively respond with international partners to this new development.
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said, “If we see North Korean troops moving to the front lines, they will be considered as co-belligerents.” According to international law and rules of war, Ukraine has the right to engage North Korean troops militarily.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that North Korea’s recent military actions reflect a deteriorating situation in Russia, with Putin becoming increasingly desperate. Rutte further noted that since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, over 600,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured.
The United States, South Korea, and Ukraine indicated that North Korea has already sent over 10,000 troops to Russia, some of whom have been involved in the fighting near the Kursk region close to the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian President Zelensky stated last week that North Korean soldiers have been wounded or killed in clashes with Ukrainian forces. He pointed out that the conflict between North Korea and Ukraine “opens a new page of instability in the world,” emphasizing that North Korea’s involvement in the conflict could further destabilize the global geopolitical situation.