The treaty reached between both countries will lead to increased trade and a mutual pact to defend each other in the event of an attack.
The agreement said there was a possible opportunity for enhanced defense and technology sharing, which comes as North Korea is supplying artillery shells to Russia for use in Ukraine, and Moscow is giving Pyongyang access to critical technology for missile and space satellite development.
Both Kim and Putin also pushed for what they called a multipolar world, or the end of U.S. dominance, and for a halt to sanctions and restrictions against nations.
Putin said the deal was a “groundbreaking document” and on Tuesday announced the Kremlin’s support for North Korea.
“Russia has incessantly supported and will support [North Korea] and the heroic Korean people in their struggle against the treacherous, dangerous and aggressive enemy,” Putin said, according to Russian state-run media.
“Relations between our countries are entering a golden age that cannot be compared even to last century’s era of Korean-Soviet ties,” Kim added in his own remarks shared by Russian state media.
The agreement comes as the U.S. has been trying to blunt both Russia and North Korea’s military provocations and to isolate both nations.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Tuesday that Putin must be “disabused of the notion that he can outlast Ukraine.”
“We are very much concerned about this because this is what’s keeping the war going,” he said.
The agreement also is troubling for South Korea, where North Korean troops have temporarily crossed the border twice after a 2018 military treaty limiting certain actions at the demilitarized zone was abandoned by both countries.
Hostilities have flared between North Korea and South Korea, with Kim also rejecting any peaceful unification with his neighbor, increasing military drills and successfully launching at least one spy satellite. He has also sent balloons of trash toward South Korea.
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters this week that the “deepening cooperation” between Russia and North Korea “is something that should be of concern, especially to anyone that’s interested in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”
