SEOUL: Russia and North Korea have agreed to “long-term” military cooperation, Russia’s defence ministry said Sunday, as Moscow’s military chief visited officials in Pyongyang.
Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops — as well as missiles and munitions — to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.
In return, analysts say North Korea is receiving financial aid, military technology, food and energy from Russia, helping Pyongyang circumvent heavy international sanctions over its banned nuclear programmes.
The two countries signed a military treaty in 2024, obligating both states to provide military assistance “without delay” in the event of an attack on the other.
“We agreed with the DPRK Defence Ministry to place our military cooperation on a stable, long-term footing,” Moscow’s Defence Minister Andrey Belousov said, using the initials of North Korea’s official name.
“We are ready to sign a plan this year for Russian-Korean military cooperation for the period of 2027-2031,” he added.
Russian officials are in Pyongyang for the opening ceremony of a memorial complex honouring those killed while supporting Moscow’s war effort against Ukraine.
Belousov met North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un and Defence Minister No Kwang Chol on Sunday, while Russia’s parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin also met Kim and thanked him for the role of North Korean troops in “the liberation of Kursk”.
Pyongyang has deployed troops to Russia’s western Kursk region to fend off a months-long counter-offensive by Kyiv’s troops.
Belousov presented military awards to North Korean servicemen who took part in the Kursk operation, the Russian defence ministry said.
“Korean soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder with our soldiers and officers, liberating Russian soil from the Ukrainian Nazis,” Volodin said.
Seoul estimates about 2,000 North Koreans have been killed in Moscow’s war with Ukraine.
North Korean soldiers are said to have been instructed to kill themselves rather than be captured in battle.
Only two North Korean troops have been captured alive and are currently in custody of Ukrainian authorities.
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