Russia ratifies defence pact with North Korea

The site of a Russian drone attack in Sumy, Ukraine. Pic/AFP

Russian lawmakers on Thursday ratified a pact with North Korea envisioning mutual military assistance, a move that comes as the US confirmed the deployment of 3,000 North Korean troops to Russia. The lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, voted quickly to endorse the "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty that Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed with North Korean leader King Jong Un on a visit to Pyongyang in June. The upper house is expected to follow suit soon.

The pact obliges Russia and North Korea to immediately provide military assistance using "all means" if either is attacked. It marked the strongest link between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War. Russia and North Korea have previously rejected assertions by the US and its allies that Pyongyang has given Moscow ballistic missiles and millions of artillery shells for use in Ukraine.

Seoul vows response as North Korean troops prepare to battle in Ukraine

South Korea's president said on Thursday his government "won't sit idle" as North Korea allegedly sends troops to support Russia's war on Ukraine, as he met with the leader of Poland to discuss expanding defence cooperation amid the ongoing conflict. "We agreed that North Korea's troop deployment to Russia, which is in direct violation of the UN charter and UN Security Council resolutions, is a provocation that threatens global security," South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said after meeting Polish President Andrzej Duda. Yoon said South Korea will work with allies to prepare countermeasures that could be rolled out in stages depending on the degree of military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.

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