North Korea has ratified a mutual defence treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia, reported state radio Voice of Korea.  

The treaty was first signed on 19 June 2024 during Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korean capital Pyongyang. The deal will formally take effect once both nations exchange documents confirming the ratification. 

The law ratifying the treaty was signed by Putin on 9 November while the corresponding decree was signed by North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Un yesterday (11 November).

The treaty outlines that if one of the signatory parties faces an armed attack, military and other forms of assistance will be provided immediately, in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter.  

Additionally, the agreement obligates both parties to refrain from forming agreements with third countries that could undermine the sovereignty, security, territorial integrity, or the right of the other party to determine its own political, social, economic, and cultural systems.  

Last month, Nato's secretary-general Mark Rutte confirmed the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia, as well as the presence of North Korean military units in the Kursk border region.  

A delegation from South Korea also briefed the North Atlantic Council and Indo-Pacific partners on North Korea’s growing involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

According to South Korea’s spy agency, North Korea has dispatched more than 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles, and other conventional arms to Russia since August 2023 to refill its weapons stockpiles.  

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated yesterday that Moscow had gathered a force of 50,000 soldiers, including North Korean troops, in Kursk.