Pyongyang has the right to defend its sovereignty from the US, the Russian leader has said
Moscow and Pyongyang have pledged to assist each other against foreign aggression, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday during a visit to North Korea.
He and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-un, signed a strategic partnership agreement during their meeting. It will serve as a roadmap for future cooperation in all spheres, from cultural and tourist ties, to trade and economic relations to security, the Russian leader has said, calling it “truly a breakthrough.”
“The document on comprehensive partnership that we signed today provides, among other things, for mutual aid in case of aggression against one of the participants,” the president added.
Moscow supports Pyongyang’s intention to protect its security and sovereignty from possible Western aggression, which is its right, Putin said. The country considers the US and its allies responsible for the increasing tensions in the region, he added.
Putin noted that Western nations were supplying advanced weapons to Ukraine and have given Kiev the green light to strike Russia. Under these circumstances, “Russia does not rule out the development of military cooperation with the DPRK under the document signed today.” He called an arms embargo imposed by the UN Security Council against North Korea “orchestrated by the US” and urged it to be scrapped.
The Russian president had previously warned the West over Kiev’s desire to use donated weapons to conduct attacks deep inside Russia. Should that happen, Moscow could send similar types of weapons to enemies of the West, which could use them to strike the military assets of the US and its allies, he said earlier this month.
Pyongyang has an “objective and balanced” stance on the Ukraine conflict and sees its core causes, which proves North Korea’s independence and sovereignty, Putin said. The two nations are also on the same page in supporting “a more just and democratic multipolar world” that should replace the previous Western-centric system.
”We will continue to oppose the imposition of strangling sanctions, which the West has turned into a tool of maintaining its hegemony in politics, the economy and other areas,” the president vowed.
