Russian senators ratify North Korean defense pact
MOSCOW
Russian lawmakers on Wednesday voted unanimously to ratify a landmark mutual defense pact with North Korea, as Kiev and the West claim Pyongyang sent thousands of troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine.
The agreement formalizes months of deepening security cooperation between the two nations, which were Communist allies throughout the Cold War.
North Korea has become one of the most vocal and important backers of Russia's full-scale offensive on Ukraine.
The West has long accused Pyongyang of supplying artillery shells and missiles to Moscow for use against Ukraine.
The latest accusations, based on intelligence reports, suggest that North Korea has deployed around 10,000 troops to Russia, indicating even deeper involvement in the conflict and triggering an outcry and warnings in Seoul, Kiev, and Western capitals.
Ahead of the vote, presidential official Andrei Rudenko addressed the assembly, stating that Moscow's relations with Pyongyang have reached new heights.
Rudenko praised North Korea for being the "only country in the world to publicly support" Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and the 2022 annexation of eastern Ukraine following Moscow's full-scale offensive.
"I believe this treaty is very timely," he told the assembly.
The vote came as Donald Trump claimed victory in the U.S. presidential election.
'Mutual assistance'
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed the strategic partnership treaty in June during Putin's visit to Pyongyang.
They stated that it would obligate "mutual assistance in case of aggression," with Putin calling it a "breakthrough document" at the time.
The treaty also commits both countries to cooperate internationally to oppose Western sanctions and coordinate positions at the United Nations.
Putin visited Pyongyang this summer for his first trip to North Korea in 24 years.
Kim has referred to Putin as his "closest comrade," while Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said last week that North Korea would "stand firmly by our Russian comrades until victory day."
She described Moscow's offensive against Ukraine as a "sacred struggle" and expressed Pyongyang's belief in Putin's "wise leadership."
'Frontline'
The treaty will now return to Putin's desk for a final signature.
The ratification comes as North Korea faces growing international pressure not to send its troops into combat alongside Russia.
South Korea warned Tuesday that a substantial deployment was already near the combat zone, including in Russia's western Kursk region, where Kiev has been mounting a cross-border offensive since the summer.
"More than 10,000 North Korean soldiers are currently in Russia, and we assess that a significant portion of them are deployed to frontline areas, including Kursk," Jeon Ha-gyu, a spokesman for the South Korean Defense Ministry, said Tuesday.
When directly asked about the reports last month, Putin did not deny that North Korean troops had been sent to Russia.
Several other Russian officials have deflected requests to comment on Western intelligence.
"The Kiev regime is trying to do everything to involve Seoul" in the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday, refusing to comment on the substance of the allegations.
Missile tests
In exchange for sending troops, the West fears that Russia is offering North Korea technological support that could advance Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.
The reclusive state fired a salvo of short-range ballistic missiles early Tuesday, according to Seoul's military, marking its second launch in days.
However, sending North Korean troops to fight against Ukraine would represent a significant escalation in the conflict, more than two and a half years after Moscow launched its full-scale offensive.
Russia has gained momentum on the battlefield this year as it advances through the eastern Donbas region, capturing a string of towns and villages while Ukraine struggles with manpower and ammunition shortages.