Russia and North Korea Signed Military Cooperation Treaty

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and General Secretary of Workers’ Party of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kim Jong Un, signed the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Treaty in Pyongyang on June 19. The treaty mandates each country to provide with assistance to another, when one of them is put in a state of war by an armed invasion. The Japanese government expressed its concern on that military cooperation.

The Soviet Union led by Nikita Khrushchev concluded a treaty of mutual assistance with North Korea topped by Kim Il-sung, a grandfather of Kim Jong Un, in 1961. Although the treaty was maintained for several decades, it was abolished after the Soviet Union was collapsed in 1991. Putin, right after taking seat of the President of Russia, tried to rebuild the relationship with North Korea by having a new treaty without military cooperation in 2000.

 

The partnership treaty last week was the renewal of the previous one in 2000. In accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter and the laws of both countries, Russia and North Korea is going to support each other with all means without delay in contingency of one of them. Putin called the new relationship as the highest level ever, and Kim called it an alliance.

 

For Russia, the treaty will be the basis for procurement of military equipment from North Korea to maintain its prolonged battle in Ukraine. For North Korea, the treaty will work for deterrence against possible military attack by Republic of Korea or the United States.

 

However, North Korea has been under sanctions by the United Nations Security Council, of which Russia is one of the five permanent members that promoted those sanctions. The sanctions include a provision that it demands all member states to prevent supplying any military equipment to North Korea, and North Korea to cease exporting those items. The treaty means that Russia has walked out of the sanction, endangering the framework of restricting development of missiles and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

 

Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Yoshimasa Hayashi, expressed serious concern on security environment surrounding Japan. Senior officials of Japan, US and ROK issued a joint statement that accused the treaty with strongest words, arguing that it would violate UN sanctions and threaten stability of Europe and Northeast Asia.

 

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has proposed a summit meeting with Kim Jong Un to settle the dispute over abduction of Japanese citizens. But he has no hope for implementing it so far. The negotiation with Russia over a peace treaty has been halted after Russia invaded Ukraine. Japan has no leverage on the security tension brought by the approach of Russia and North Korea.

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