Moscow Announces Implementation of Russia-North Korea Strategic Partnership Treaty

A comprehensive strategic partnership treaty between Moscow and Pyongyang has officially come into effect, Russia’s foreign ministry has confirmed.

“On Dec. 4, an exchange of instruments of ratification of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty … was held in Moscow,” the ministry said in a statement carried by Russia’s state-run TASS news agency on Dec. 5.

According to the news agency, the protocol was signed by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong Gyu.

Citing the foreign ministry, TASS said the treaty would aid in developing “a multifaceted bilateral interaction that aligns with the new, strategic level of friendship and cooperation between Russia and North Korea.”

The agreement, it added, would also contribute to “building an indivisible security system in northeast Asia and across the entire Asia-Pacific region.”

North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency also reported on Dec. 5 that the strategic partnership treaty had officially come into effect.

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The U.S. State Department did not respond by publication time to The Epoch Times’ request for comment on the issue.

The treaty, which includes a provision on mutual defense, was initially signed in June by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit by Putin to Pyongyang.

After a signing ceremony, Putin told reporters that the “groundbreaking” agreement laid down “comprehensive benchmarks for deepening Russia–North Korea relations in the long term.”

Kim stressed the treaty’s “defensive” nature, which, he said, would elevate bilateral ties “to the level of an alliance.”

He also voiced Pyongyang’s “unwavering support” for Moscow’s foreign policy trajectory, including Russia’s ongoing invasion of eastern Ukraine.

Soon afterward, U.S., South Korean, and Japanese officials condemned “in the strongest possible terms” what they called the “deepening military cooperation” between the two countries.

Nevertheless, Putin signed a law officially ratifying the agreement last month, with Kim following suit two days later.

At the time, TASS said that the treaty—once it came into force—would “provide for the immediate provision of military and other assistance if one of the parties is subjected to an armed attack, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.”

Escalation

Since Russia launched its invasion of eastern Ukraine in early 2022, U.S. officials have accused it of using North Korean short-range missiles to strike Ukrainian targets.

They have also said that Moscow sought to acquire ballistic missiles from Pyongyang in exchange for advanced technologies.

In January, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby accused Russia of having fired “multiple” North Korean missiles at targets inside Ukraine.

Citing declassified intelligence, Kirby said Pyongyang had given the Russian military ballistic missiles—although he did not give a number—along with launchers to fire them.

When pressed by reporters about the claims, a Kremlin spokesman declined to comment.

In October, South Korea released satellite imagery purportedly showing the transfer of thousands of North Korean military personnel into eastern Russia.

Since then, U.S. and Ukrainian officials have alleged that North Korean troops are actively fighting alongside their Russian counterparts in Russia’s western Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces hold a small sliver of territory.

Moscow and Pyongyang have neither confirmed nor denied the claims, although a Kremlin spokesman said in October that they appeared to be “fake news.”

In a major policy reversal last month, the White House—citing the alleged presence of North Korean troops in Kursk—lifted its ban on Kyiv’s use of U.S.-made advanced missile systems to strike targets in Russia.

Reuters contributed to this report.