"Military Aid During War" Putin Submits Bill for Ratification of North Korea-Russia Treaty...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted to the State Duma a bill ratifying the 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty (North Korea-Russia Treaty)' signed with North Korea last June.

According to TASS and other agencies on the 14th (local time), a federal bill stating "Ratifying the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between the Russian Federation and North Korea signed in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024" was posted in the State Duma's electronic database. This is a procedure to bring into effect the North Korea-Russia treaty signed after President Putin's state visit to North Korea in June and his summit with North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un.

The North·Russia treaty posted in the Duma database on that day includes provisions that if either party suffers an armed invasion and enters a state of war, the other party shall promptly provide military assistance in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations (UN) Charter and North Korean and Russian law. It also contains provisions for close cooperation in various fields such as collaboration on the international stage and in a multipolar new world order, joint responses in food, energy, and information and communication technology sectors, as well as cooperation in trade, investment, and science and technology.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Additionally, the treaty specifies that "this treaty must be ratified and shall enter into force from the date of exchange of ratification instruments" and that it "shall remain in force indefinitely." In Russia, the treaty ratification process proceeds through the State Duma. North Korea has also announced it will hold the Supreme People's Assembly on the 7th of this month, drawing attention to whether the North Korea-Russia treaty will be ratified.

Since signing this treaty, which elevates bilateral relations to the level of a military alliance, Russia and North Korea have strengthened comprehensive cooperation. Last month, Sergey Shoigu, Secretary of Russia's Security Council, visited Pyongyang and met with Chairman Kim. Amid allegations that North Korea is supplying Russia with ammunition and other weapons necessary for the Ukraine "special military operation," recent claims from the Ukrainian side have also emerged that North Korea has dispatched troops to support Russian forces in Ukraine.

While North Korea claims that South Korean drones intruded into Pyongyang airspace to distribute anti-North leaflets, Russia also supported North Korea on this day, calling it a "sovereignty violation and interference in internal affairs." Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated in a press release, "Such actions by Seoul constitute a serious violation of North Korean sovereignty and can only be seen as an attempt to destroy the legitimate national and political system of an independent state and deprive it of the right to develop autonomously." She further emphasized, "Russia will continue to play a constructive role, including based on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty concluded with North Korea, to prevent the escalation of risks on the Korean Peninsula and to positively reverse the situation."