On Wednesday, June 19, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang, Russian ministers accompanying him were asked to leave the negotiation meeting room by a North Korean official, who seemed displeased with them entering the room before Kim Jong-un.
According to the Moscow Times, this incident occurred during Putin’s visit to North Korea, and North Korean media live-streamed the event.
The first to enter the hall was Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who sat at the table and complained that he had gotten something dirty. Deputy Prime Ministers Denis Manturov and Vitaly Saveliev then sat down next to Lavrov.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, and Yuri Borisov, head of the Russian Space Agency, were also captured on camera.
A North Korean official can be heard off-screen telling them, “Stop, leave the hall immediately.”
The Russian delegation representatives asked in return, “Then why did we come in?”
The North Korean official replied in Russian, “Our leader enters first, and then you can come in.”
Hearing this, the Russian delegation reluctantly left the meeting hall.
The broadcast suddenly switched to an empty conference room, with Putin and Kim Jong-un subsequently hosting bilateral negotiations there.
Despite the discord between the Russian delegation and North Korean officials, the summit between Putin and Kim Jong-un was successfully concluded. They claimed to have signed a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement” on June 19.
According to the agreement text published by the North Korean state media, if either country is invaded and drawn into a state of war, the other must deploy all “available means” without delay to provide “military and other assistance.” However, the agreement also stipulates that such actions must comply with the laws of both countries and Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which recognizes the right of UN member states to self-defense.
While some analysts believe the agreement fully restores the alliance of the two nations during the Cold War era, others argue that the symbolic significance of the agreement outweighs its substantive meaning.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s office issued a statement condemning the agreement, stating that it poses a threat to South Korea’s security, violates UN Security Council resolutions, and warns that it will have a negative impact on the relationship between South Korea and Russia.
Yoon Suk-yeol’s office said, “The two sides who have launched aggressive wars – the Korean War and the Ukraine war – now vow to engage in military cooperation, under the premise of a war that will never happen ahead of time by the international community, which is absurd.”
Yoon Suk-yeol’s national security advisor, Chang Ho-jin, stated that South Korea will reconsider providing weapons to Ukraine to help the country defend against Russian invasion.