North Korea has ratified a landmark defence pact with Russia, state media reported Tuesday, deepening security cooperation that has seen Pyongyang send thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Ukraine.
The agreement formalises months of tightening military bonds between two nations that were Communist allies throughout the Cold War.
Seoul and ally the United States have accused the nuclear-armed North of sending thousands of soldiers to Russia, where they have been outfitted with Russian uniforms and are, according to reports, massed on the border near Kursk.
The deal “was ratified as a decree” of leader Kim Jong Un, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Tuesday.
The notice comes after Russian lawmakers voted unanimously last week to ratify the deal, which President Vladimir Putin later signed.
“The treaty will take effect from the day when both sides exchanged the ratification instruments,” KCNA said.
North Korea has become one of the most vocal and important backers of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.
Pyongyang has long been accused by Western nations of supplying Moscow with artillery shells and missiles for use in Ukraine, but that support has escalated in recent weeks with the reported arrival of thousands of North Korean troops prepared to engage in combat.
Putin and Kim signed the strategic partnership treaty in June, during the Kremlin chief’s visit to North Korea.
It obligates both states to provide military assistance “without delay” in the case of an attack on the other and to cooperate internationally to oppose Western sanctions.
Putin hailed the deal in June as a “breakthrough document”.
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