45 minutes ago
By Tessa Wong, BBC News
Sputnik / Getty Images
The two leaders were all smiles at the welcoming ceremony on Wednesday
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un have signed an agreement pledging that Russia and North Korea will help each other in the event of “aggression” against either country. The Russian president made the announcement following talks with Mr Kim during a lavish visit to Pyongyang, his first since 2000. Mr Kim said it took their relationship to “a new, high level of alliance”. The pact cements a rapidly blossoming partnership that has worried the West. It could also have significant ramifications for the world, say observers. Any kind of mutual defense treaty could possibly see Moscow assisting Pyongyang in a future conflict on the Korean peninsula, while North Korea could openly help Russia in its war on Ukraine. Mr Kim is already accused of supplying Russia with weapons, while Mr Putin is thought to be giving the North Koreans space technology that could aid their missile program. The two last met in Russia in September. On Wednesday they signed a “comprehensive partnership agreement” that included a clause where they agreed to provide “mutual assistance in the event of aggression” against either country, said Mr Putin. He did not spell out what would constitute aggression. Mr Putin has in recent months faced difficulties on the battlefield in Ukraine, particularly with depleting weapons. During their last face-to-face meeting in September, when Mr Kim visited Russia, the two had discussed military cooperation and were suspected of striking an arms deal. Since then there has been growing evidence that Russia has been deploying North Korean missiles in Ukraine. In the last few weeks, however, the US and other NATO countries have given permission to Ukraine to use Western weapons on Russian soil, in a significant move that Kyiv hopes would turn the tide to its favor. Mr Putin warned of consequences and earlier this month said he was considering arming adversaries of the West with long-range weapons – something that North Korea has been developing. He criticized the West’s decision again on Wednesday, saying it was “a gross violation” of restrictions under international obligations. He also took issue with Western sanctions on Russia and North Korea, saying that they both “do not tolerate the language of blackmail and diktat” and would continue to counter the West’s use of “sanctions strangling” to maintain “hegemony”. Mr Kim, meanwhile, praised their treaty as marking a significant and historic moment in their relation. He also expressed “full support and solidarity” for Russia in its war on Ukraine. Red carpet for Putin in lavish ceremony in Pyongyang The treaty is likely to anger Seoul, which had ahead of the meeting warned Russia against going “beyond a certain point”. National Security adviser Chang Ho-jin had told his Russian counterpart that Moscow “should take into consideration which among North Korea and South Korea will be more important to it, once Russia ends its war with Ukraine”. Rachel Lee, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center think tank’s Korea program, said any such treaty would have “significant implications for the region and the world”. Besides the possibility of Russian intervention in a fresh conflict between the two Koreas, “if North Korea continues to supply weapons to Russia, and Russia provides advanced military technology to North Korea, we can face an even greater global [weapons] proliferation problem.” Chad O’Carroll, a North Korean specialist from NK News, said on X, formerly Twitter, that the clause could open the door to conflict-related cooperation, including the possibility of North Korean soldiers assisting Russia in Ukraine. Sputnik / Getty Images Mr Putin was greeted by crowds and balloons on Wednesday Mr Putin’s visit kicked off with a later than expected arrival in Pyongyang, which saw him touch down at about 0300 local time (18:00 GMT). Once he stepped off the plane, Mr Kim greeted him with an embrace and a red carpet welcome where apparently no expense was spared. As the Russian leader was ferried to the Kumsusan guesthouse, the same place where fellow ally Chinese President Xi Jinping stayed previously, North Korean state media showed the capital ablaze with light from streetlamps and buildings. It was a striking image for an impoverished country suffering from a chronic electricity shortage. At the welcoming ceremony later on Wednesday, Mr Putin was greeted by a spectacle of enthusiastic devotion choreographed to its minutest detail and rife with North Korean propaganda imagery. Typical of the North Korean regime, it featured a cast of hundreds of thousands, many of whom would have been told to participate. Accompanied by police on motorbikes riding in perfect formation, his motorcade glided through the streets of Pyongyang lined with people waving Russian flags, bouquets of flowers and pictures of Mr Putin. They chanted “welcome Putin” and “North Korea Russia friendship”. Sputnik / Getty Images Mr Putin and Mr Kim were greeted by children dressed in white and waving flags At Kim Il Sung Square, named after the regime’s founder and Mr Kim’s grandfather, a crowd dressed in the two countries’ flag colors and evenly spaced out on the square waited for Mr Putin’s arrival. As he stepped out of his car, they cheered and released balloons into the sky. Little children dressed in white, the color symbolizing the purity of North Korean society, greeted the Russian leader. El Sr. Putin y el Sr. Kim caminaron junto a filas de soldados montados en caballos blancos – un gesto al caballo que se dice que el abuelo del Sr. Kim montó mientras lideraba su ejército contra los japoneses.
Luego, los dos hombres observaron a los soldados que marchaban mientras estaban frente a retratos solemnes y de varios metros de altura de sí mismos que adornaban un edificio cercano y se cernían sobre las festividades abajo.
Más tarde, el Sr. Putin asistió a un concierto de gala y a una recepción de estado con banquete, donde el menú incluía platos como bacalao en forma de flor blanca, fideos coreanos y sopa de pollo con ginseng y calabaza.
Las festividades terminaron con el Sr. Putin volando tarde el miércoles hacia Vietnam, pero no antes de que intercambiaran regalos. El Sr. Putin le dio al Sr. Kim un segundo coche de lujo Aurus – e incluso lo llevó a dar una vuelta en él. El primero fue presentado al Sr. Kim durante su visita a Rusia. También le dio al Sr. Kim una daga ceremonial de almirante y un juego de té. A cambio, el Sr. Kim dio varias obras de arte que se dice que presentan la imagen del Sr. Putin.
Sputnik / Getty Images
Los dos líderes observaron un desfile militar en la plaza
La última vez que el Sr. Putin estuvo en Pyongyang fue en 2000, apenas cuatro meses después de asumir el poder, para reunirse con el padre de Kim Jong Il.
Veinticuatro años después, la economía de Corea del Norte ha sido aún más diezmada por las sanciones internacionales. Muchos observadores creen que Kim Jong Un solicitó ayuda crucial como alimentos, combustible, divisas extranjeras y tecnología a su viejo amigo de Corea del Norte. En la época soviética, Rusia desempeñó un papel fundamental en sostener al régimen familiar Kim.
Durante la visita del Sr. Kim a Rusia en septiembre pasado, el Sr. Putin prometió ayudar a Corea del Norte a desarrollar sus satélites, después de varios lanzamientos fallidos. Estados Unidos cree que el programa de satélites de Corea del Norte también tiene como objetivo impulsar sus capacidades de misiles balísticos, ya que la tecnología es similar.
Pero ambos líderes también se benefician de ganancias diplomáticas y de poder blando, señalan los observadores.
Están “tratando de reducir el dolor de las sanciones internacionales creando una red alternativa de amigos y socios más allá del alcance de las sanciones estadounidenses”, señaló Jeffrey Lewis, director del Centro de Estudios de No Proliferación James Martin.
Esto a su vez refuerza la visión del mundo “multipolar” que Rusia, China y otros estados han estado promoviendo como una alternativa al orden internacional actual liderado por Estados Unidos y sus aliados occidentales, dicen los analistas.
Reportaje adicional de Joel Guinto, Kelly Ng y Jake Kwon.