North Korea pledges strong support for Russia amid Ukraine war

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un stated that Russia is waging a war in Ukraine to protect "sovereign rights and security." He promised to "unite" with Vladimir Putin and provide him with "continuous, strong support."

Kim Jong Un assured Moscow of "shared recognition of the importance and necessity of the military cooperation between the two countries to defend mutual security interests." According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Jong Un said this during a meeting with a Russian delegation led by Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko.

During negotiations held at the Central Committee building of the Workers' Party of Korea, the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea noted: "the need for the armies of the two countries to get united more firmly to dynamically lead the DPRK-Russia relations in the new era and play an important part in defending regional and global peace and international justice."

According to KCNA, during the meeting, cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang in the military sphere was discussed "to protect mutual security interests." No further details were provided.

North Korea is one of the few countries that support Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Pyongyang's support has so far been expressed not only in words but also in providing military aid.

According to the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), from August last year to January 2024, North Korea supplied Russia with approximately 1.6 million artillery shells.

However, according to South Korean intelligence, this figure could be three times higher. The White House claimed that among the supplied ammunition were ballistic missiles. Moscow and Pyongyang deny that both countries are engaged in "illegal military-technical cooperation."

In June, dictator Vladimir Putin visited the DPRK for the first time since 2000. During the visit, the parties signed a "comprehensive strategic partnership agreement," which stipulates that Russia and the DPRK "will promptly assist each other if one of the parties is attacked" and finds itself in a state of war.

The Russian Foreign Ministry assures that the agreement "is not aimed at forming a military alliance in the Western mold and is not directed against third countries."

However, the agreement has raised concerns in South Korea, which stated that it would lift its ban on supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine if Russia starts sending precision-guided weapons to Pyongyang. Putin said that Seoul "has nothing to worry about" but called any potential arms supplies to Kyiv a "big mistake."