Putin: Russia and North Korea sign mutual defense pact

Russia and North Korea signed a brand new “comprehensive strategic partnership” on Wednesday, as Western politicians grow increasingly concerned concerning the impact of President Vladimir Putin's first state visit to the nuclear-armed state in 24 years.

Russian state media reported the signing of the partnership, which also features a mutual defense pact, just hours after Putin arrived in Pyongyang, where he received a red carpet welcome from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and attended a welcoming ceremony attended by hundreds.

At the lavish reception of the Russian president, there was praise from Kim, who, based on the state news agency Tass, expressed his full support and solidarity with Moscow, also due to its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

In return, Putin According to reports gave Kim one other recent Aurus (a Russian-built sedan), an admiral's dagger and a tea set, a gesture symbolizing the growing ties between the 2 countries.

Russian politicians had already hinted at plans for a strategic partnership before Putin's two-day trip. The recent document replaces previous agreements and reportedly covers cooperation within the fields of politics, economics, culture, humanities and security.

“The comprehensive partnership agreement signed today provides, among other things, for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this agreement,” Tass quoted Putin as saying.

“The Russian Federation does not rule out military-technical cooperation with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in accordance with the document,” Putin added.

Earlier, the North Korean ruling party's official newspaper reported on Tuesday that Putin had promised to expand trade with the country and strengthen security across Eurasia. The article added that he supported North Korea's resistance against its “dangerous and aggressive” enemies.

Western countries, which impose heavy sanctions on each Russia and North Korea, are closely monitoring the developments of the visit and its possible impact on Russia's war in Ukraine and tensions on the Korean peninsula.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said joint press conference on Tuesday that Putin's trip confirmed “the very close cooperation between Russia and authoritarian states such as North Korea” in addition to China and Iran. Stoltenberg made these remarks along with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

US officials have said that Pyongyang has supplied Russia with dozens of ballistic missiles and greater than 11,000 containers of ammunition for the war in Ukraine and that Putin could use his trip to lobby for more weapons.

“We are of course also concerned about the potential support Russia is providing to North Korea when it comes to supporting its missile and nuclear programs,” Stoltenberg said.

Victor Cha, senior vp for Asia and Korea on the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agreed in an interview with CNBC's “Squawk Box Asia” on Wednesday that North Korea's arms sales to Russia might be reciprocated by supporting the Kremlin's nuclear program.

“The question is how much Putin believes he needs the ammunition from North Korea to survive and win the war,” Cha said. “That could lower the bar for what he is willing to give North Korea, especially if Kim pushes through a hard deal.”.”

Early last year, Kim ordered the “exponential” expansion of his country's nuclear arsenal and the development of more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles, state media reported.

“The leading provider for this [expansion] will most likely be Russia,” Cha said. “For the United States, this is a real problem … The Ukraine war is pretty much the best thing that could have happened to Kim Jong Un.”

The White House warned that any Russian support for North Korea's weapons program could have an effect on South Korea.

On Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a press conference that growing relations between Russia and North Korea “should be of great concern to anyone interested in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.”

However, Cha said the US could also be limited in its ability to slow the flow of weapons between Russia and North Korea without risking outright war.

“[The Biden administration] is paying more public attention to the issue, but on the political side I don't see any real indication of what they are trying to do in this regard,” he said.