(Moscow) Vladimir Putin will be in North Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday, an exceptional visit at the end of which a strategic partnership agreement could be signed between these two countries whose alliance the West perceives as a threat.  

Americans and Europeans have been worried for months about the accelerated rapprochement between Moscow and Pyongyang, accusing the North Koreans of delivering munitions to Russia for its assault on Ukraine in exchange for technological, diplomatic and food assistance.

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. .

Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic adviser, Yuri Ushakov, presented Mr. Putin’s trip as a strong moment for the two countries which are under Western sanctions, and said he hoped that a strategic partnership agreement would be signed.

“Important, very significant documents” will be signed, he told Russian media, referring to “the possible conclusion of a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement.”

“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 Kremlin’s master will be accompanied in particular by his head of diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, and his Minister of Defense, Andrei 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.

In March, Russia used its veto at the UN Security Council to end monitoring of international sanctions violations targeting North Korea, a major gift to Pyongyang.

Kim Jong-un on Wednesday touted the “unbreakable, brother-in-arms” ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, which date back to Soviet times, ahead of the Russian leader’s visit.

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, and prides himself on the support of the Chinese giant.

China is North Korea’s main economic supporter and diplomatic ally.

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.

Ahead of his visit to North Korea, several senior Russian officials, including the head of foreign intelligence services Sergei Naryshkin, made a trip to Pyongyang.  

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui was in Moscow in January.