North Korea has ratified a historic defense agreement with Russia, sealing their rapprochement in the context of the war led by Moscow in Ukraine, the official North Korean agency KCNA reported on Tuesday, November 12. Read also | Live: Volodymyr Zelensky estimates that 50,000 Russian troops are mobilized by the Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk oblast Read later The agreement “was ratified in the form of a decree” signed by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, on November 11, specifies KCNA, the day after the announcement in Moscow of the signing of this treaty by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Concluded during a rare visit by Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang in June, this treaty between these two countries, the bane of the United States, notably provides for reciprocal “immediate military aid” in the event of an attack against one of the two countries. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers War in Ukraine: Westerners confirm the deployment of North Korean soldiers in Russia Read later According to kyiv, some 11,000 North Korean soldiers are already deployed in Russia and have started to fight against the Ukrainians on Russian territory , in the Kursk oblast, a small part of which has been occupied by Ukrainian forces on the offensive since August. The Kremlin has so far evaded questions about this presence of North Korean reinforcements. Coordination of their positions The agreement formalizes months of deepening security cooperation between the two countries, communist allies throughout the Cold War. Russia and North Korea have grown significantly closer since the Russian attack on Ukraine began in 2022. Also read | Article reserved for our subscribers The presence of North Korean troops alongside Russia illustrates Pyongyang’s new global ambitions Read later The agreement also commits the two countries to cooperate internationally to oppose Western sanctions and coordinate their positions at the United Nations. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui recently visited Moscow where she said her country would “stand firmly with Russian comrades until Victory Day.” She called the offensive against Ukraine a “sacred struggle” and praised the wisdom of Vladimir Putin. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers War in Ukraine: Western embarrassment in the face of North Korean engagement Read later Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
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