(Seoul) Russian President Vladimir Putin, expected Tuesday and Wednesday in North Korea for an exceptional state visit, assured Pyongyang of his country’s “unwavering support” against the “cunning, dangerous and aggressive enemy”, and thanked him for supporting the military operation in Ukraine.

Mr. Putin is due to make a state visit to North Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday, after which a strategic partnership agreement could be signed between these two countries whose alliance the West perceives as a threat.

“Russia supported [North Korea] and its heroic people in their struggle to defend their right to choose the path of independence, originality and development for themselves in the confrontation with the cunning enemy , dangerous and aggressive, yesterday and tomorrow as well, and it will unwaveringly support them in the future,” Mr. Putin wrote in an article published by the official North Korean daily Rodong Sinmun and the KCNA agency.

He also said that Pyongyang “firmly supports” the Russian military offensive in Ukraine and thanked it for it.

This visit “shows how dependent President Putin and Moscow are now on authoritarian countries around the world. Their closest friends and biggest supporters of the Russian war effort – the war of aggression – are North Korea, Iran and China,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg commented on Monday from Washington, stressing that Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, is now “violating sanctions” imposed on North Korea.

“What concerns us is the deepening of the relationship between these two countries, not only because of the impact it will have on the Ukrainian people, because we know that North Korean ballistic missiles are still used to strike Ukrainian targets, but also because there could be some reciprocity that could affect the security of the Korean Peninsula,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. .

“This treaty, if signed, will of course be conditioned by the profound evolution of the geopolitical situation in the world and in the region and by the qualitative changes that have recently taken place in our bilateral relations,” he said. it belongs.

According to him, Mr. Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will also make “statements to the press” and the Russian president will attend a concert given in his honor.

The master of the Kremlin will be accompanied by his head of diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, and his Minister of Defense, Andreï Beloussov.  

The Russian president will then visit Vietnam, another partner of Russia from the Soviet era, on June 19 and 20.

The trip to North Korea comes nine months after Mr. Putin hosted Kim Jong-un in the Russian Far East, a visit during which the two men praised each other but did not conclude, officially at least, okay.

According to the West, Pyongyang has drawn on its vast stocks of munitions to massively supply Russia, and the Pentagon last week accused Moscow of using North Korean ballistic missiles in Ukraine.

In exchange, according to Washington and Seoul, Russia provided North Korea with expertise for its satellite program and sent aid to deal with the country’s food shortages.

Kim Jong-un praised Wednesday before the Russian leader’s visit the “unwavering, brothers-in-arms” ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, which date back to the Soviet era.

During his trip to Russia in September 2023, he had already declared that ties with Moscow were his country’s “number one priority.”

South Korea said Thursday it was “closely monitoring preparations” for Vladimir Putin’s visit, calling on Moscow to “contribute to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula while respecting Security Council resolutions” of the UN.

Seoul has provided significant military aid to Ukraine, where South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited last month, and is taking part in Western sanctions against Moscow.

Vladimir Putin presents his assault on Ukraine and his diplomatic efforts as a battle to fight American hegemony on the international stage.

This is only the second visit to North Korea by the Russian leader, who last visited nearly a quarter of a century ago, shortly after he came to power, to meet with the father of Kim Jung Un, Kim Jong-il.