North Korea has ratified historic defense agreement with Russia, sealing their rapprochement against the backdrop of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, North Korea’s official KCNA news agency reported on Tuesday November 12. The agreement “has been ratified in the form of a decree” signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on November 11, says KCNA, the day after it was announced in Moscow that Russian President Vladimir Putin had also signed the mutual defense treaty. Concluded during Vladimir Putin’s rare visit to Pyongyang in June, the treaty between the two countries, which are the bête noires of the United States, includes “immediate military aid in the event of an attack on one of the two countries.

11,000 North Korean troops deployed in Russia

According to Kiev, some 11,000 North Korean troops already deployed in Russia and have begun fighting against the Ukrainians in Russian territory, in the Kursk region, a small part of which has been occupied by Ukrainian forces on the offensive since August. The Kremlin has so far evaded questions about the presence of North Korean reinforcements.

The agreement formalizes months of deepening security cooperation between the two countries, Communist allies throughout the Cold War. Russia and North Korea have grown considerably closer since the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine in 2022. The agreement also commits the two countries to international cooperation in opposing Western sanctions and coordinating their positions at the United Nations.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui recently visited Moscow, where she stated that her country would “stand firmly by the Russian comrades until the day of victory”.. She described the offensive against Ukraine as “sacred struggle” and praised Vladimir Putin’s wisdom.