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NKorea, Russia Ratify Defense Treaty 11/12 06:05
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea ratified a major defense treaty with
Russia stipulating mutual military aid, the North's state media reported
Tuesday, as the U.S., South Korea and Ukraine say North Korea has sent
thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.
Russia had completed the ratification of the treaty last week after it was
signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
in June. It is considered both countries' biggest defense deal since the end of
the Cold War.
The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty will take effect when both
sides exchange documents on the ratification, the state-run Korean Central News
Agency said.
North Korea ratified the treaty through a decree signed Monday by the
country's president of state affairs, KCNA said, using one of Kim's titles.
North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly, has
the right to ratify treaties but Kim can unilaterally ratify major ones,
according to South Korea's Unification Ministry.
The treaty requires both countries to use all available means to provide
immediate military assistance if either is attacked. It also calls for the two
countries to actively cooperate in efforts to establish a "just and multipolar
new world order" and strengthen cooperation on various sectors including
peaceful atomic energy, space, food supply, trade and economy.
Some observers speculate the treaty's ratification in both countries could
signal North Korea could formally enter the Russia-Ukraine war soon.
According to U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments, up
to 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia likely as part of the
June treaty. Last week, Ukrainian officials said Ukraine and North Korean
troops engaged in small-scale fighting while Ukraine's army fired artillery at
North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk border region.
North Korea's troop dispatch threatens to escalate the almost three-year
war. South Korea, the U.S. and their partners also worry about what Russia
could give North Korea in return. Possible Russian transfer of sensitive
technology to enhance North Korea's already-advancing nuclear and missile
programs would be an alarming development for the U.S. and its allies.
North Korea and Russia have been significantly strengthening their military
and other cooperation. South Korea's spy agency said last month that North
Korea had sent more than 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles and other
conventional arms to Russia since August 2023 to replenish its dwindling
weapons stockpiles.
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