Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday and agreed to boost military cooperation between the two isolated nations, state media said.
Belousov’s visit “would greatly contribute to bolstering up the defence capabilities of the two countries and… promoting the friendly, mutual cooperation and development of the relations between the two armies,” the KCNA report said.
The visit comes amid escalating tensions over the deployment of Pyongyang’s troops in western Russia to help in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, and Western nations lifting a long-standing ban on using their missiles to strike targets inside Russia.
The West believes some 10,000 North Korean troops have been dispatched to the Kursk region in western Russia near the border with Ukraine, something neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has confirmed.
According to KCNA, Kim described the decision of Western powers to allow Kyiv to strike Russia with its missiles “direct military intervention in the conflict,” and added: “It is an exercise of the right to self-defence for Russia to take resolute action to make the hostile forces pay the price as it has emerged as an aggressive entity in the anti-Russia war.”
Russia and North Korea have strengthened their military ties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
North Korea and Russia are both under UN sanctions — the former for its nuclear weapons programme and the latter for the Ukraine conflict.
The two countries signed a strategic partnership treaty in June which was ratified recently, providing for mutual military assistance in case of an attack and cooperation in the face of Western sanctions.
Experts believe that in exchange for sending troops to help Russia, Kim is eager to gain advanced technology and battle experience for his troops in return.
The deployment of North Korean troops in Russia prompted Seoul to deepen security ties with Kyiv.
Besides Kim, Belousov also held talks with his North Korean counterpart No Kwang Chol, in which “Belousov expressed the willingness to further expand the mutually beneficial cooperation in the complicated international situation,” according to KCNA.
