(News Nation) Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a cooperation agreement on Wednesday that includes a pledge to assist each other if either country is attacked.
Putin made the announcement during his first visit to North Korea in 24 years.
The leaders said the agreement covers areas such as security, trade, investment, cultural and humanitarian ties and could mark the strongest ties between Moscow and Pyongyang since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. They described the agreement as a major upgrade in ties between the two countries.
U.S. leaders told NewsNation they aren’t overly concerned but are monitoring the talks.
The summit comes amid growing concern among the United States and its allies about an arms deal under which North Korea would provide Moscow with badly needed military equipment for the Ukraine war in exchange for economic aid and technology transfers that could pose a growing threat to Kim Jong Un’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.
Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove told NewsNation that the US and China do not want Kim Jong Un to acquire nuclear weapons and that the new agreement could pose a threat to him.
What will both countries gain?
Kim called the agreement the “strongest treaty ever” between the two countries, elevating their relationship to the level of an alliance, and vowed to fully support Russia in its war in Ukraine. Putin called the agreement a “landmark document” that reflected a shared desire to take ties to a higher level.
“First, North Korea gets a huge benefit, and the world rises up in their minds,” Breedlove said. “The leader of a world power is visiting them and their country. That’s a big deal.”
North Korea is under heavy sanctions from the UN Security Council over its weapons programs, while Russia is under sanctions from international and Western countries over its invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. and South Korean officials have accused North Korea of providing Russia with artillery, missiles and other military equipment for use in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for key military technology and assistance. Both Pyongyang and Moscow deny the accusations of North Korean arms transfers that would violate multiple U.N. Security Council sanctions that Russia has previously approved.
What about China?
Russia, along with China, has lent political protection to Kim Jong Un’s ongoing efforts to build up his nuclear arsenal and has repeatedly blocked U.S.-led efforts to impose new UN sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear tests.
China considers North Korea under its watch and protection, Breedlove said, explaining that China’s biggest concern is North Korea making too much noise about a nuclear exchange, and President Xi Jinping doesn’t want Kim Jong Un to bring such weapons to its borders.
As relations between Russia and North Korea rekindle and strengthen, China will ask what comes in return. China will be concerned about whether Putin will support Kim Jong Un’s nuclear program, over which Xi wants to maintain strong control, Breedlove said.
“I think China is very concerned about these talks that are outside of its jurisdiction and oversight,” Breedlove said. “China doesn’t want a rowdy nuclear power on its border.”
