Kim Jong Un and Putin meet in North Korea and sign strategic partnership

SEOUL, South Korea – Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a new pact on Wednesday that includes a commitment to mutual defense in the event of an attack.

The agreement was sealed at a summit in Pyongyang during a rare visit by Putin to the reclusive nuclear state as both countries face growing confrontations with the West.

The comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, both isolated by global sanctions, could expand supplies of military technology to Pyongyang in exchange for munitions that Moscow’s military desperately needs for its war in Ukraine. US officials previously told NBC News that such supplies could greatly strengthen North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs and threaten the Asia-Pacific region.

Kim, who has accelerated his weapons tests and stoked tensions with his US ally South Korea, pledged his “full support” on Wednesday for what Russia calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Putin’s visit on Wednesday, his first to North Korea in 24 years, comes as Kremlin forces are pushing for breakthroughs in Ukraine’s east and north, while Kyiv’s defenses are being bolstered by new pledges from its own allies.

He arrived at noon for a welcoming ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang, named after Kim’s grandfather and the founder of North Korea.

In front of a large crowd of cheering civilians, Putin and Kim greeted the politicians on a red carpet in front of the city’s central library, where two giant portraits of the two looked down. Military bands played the national anthems of both countries and children waved balloons and the Russian and North Korean flags.

Kim and Putin then left for summit talks at Kumsusan Palace.

“We greatly appreciate your consistent and unwavering support for Russian policy, including with regard to Ukraine,” Putin said in his opening speech before the start of the talks, according to Russian state media.

He also said Russia was fighting against “the imperialist policies that the United States and its satellites have been pursuing against Russia for decades.”

Russian state media reported that Kim said relations between Russia and North Korea were “entering a new phase of great prosperity” and that North Korea would “unconditionally support all Russian policies.”

The talks between delegations from both countries lasted about an hour and a half, followed by individual talks between Kim and Putin that lasted another two hours, Russian state media reported.

Earlier, Kim was at Pyongyang’s international airport early Wednesday morning to greet Putin upon his arrival, shake his hand and hug him, the state-run Korean News Agency reported. He then accompanied Putin in his limousine to the Kumsusan state guesthouse, where the Russian president would stay overnight.

The agency said the two leaders “exchanged their innermost thoughts” during the trip and their meeting demonstrated the “invincibility and permanence” of relations between Russia and North Korea.

Putin last visited Pyongyang in 2000 to improve relations with Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il. The current North Korean president’s visit to Russia’s Far East last year provided signs of deepening relations.

On Wednesday, Putin described the strategic agreement as a “fundamental document” that will shape long-term relations between Russia and North Korea.

The deal could “lay the groundwork for arms trafficking and also strengthen their anti-American and anti-Western coalition,” says Lami Kim, professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu.

There are concerns in the West about the exchange of weapons and intelligence, which could both help Putin’s army in Ukraine and threaten the United States and its allies in Asia.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Russia is “desperately trying to build and strengthen relationships with countries that can provide it with what it needs to continue the war of aggression it has begun against Ukraine.”

He said North Korea had supplied Russia with “significant quantities of ammunition” and other weapons for use in Ukraine.

U.S. intelligence officials believe Putin will provide North Korea with nuclear submarines and ballistic missile technology in return, six senior U.S. officials told NBC News. The Biden administration, they said, is concerned that Russia could help North Korea complete the final steps needed to deploy its first submarine capable of launching a nuclear-armed missile.

Both North Korea and Russia have denied any arms transfers that would violate UN Security Council resolutions that Russia has supported in the past.

Russia ended its monitoring of UN sanctions against North Korea with a veto in the Security Council earlier this year, prompting accusations that Moscow was evading scrutiny and joining China in efforts to shield Kim from the consequences of his weapons tests.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that any cooperation should not violate existing resolutions and “undermine peace and stability in the region.”

In addition, Pyongyang could gain access to much-needed oil and natural resources for its devastated economy and missile program.

“Their cooperation will further undermine the effectiveness of the sanctions,” said Kim, the professor from Honolulu.

It was also a personal victory for the North Korean leader, she said, because “being seen with a world leader like Putin would also be a huge success” for domestic propaganda efforts to give him the cult-like status his father and grandfather enjoyed.

“There are economic benefits and a reputational gain,” she said.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula are at their highest in years as Kim increases the pace of weapons tests and the United States, South Korea and Japan intensify joint military exercises that the North sees as a dress rehearsal for an invasion. Last year, Kim abandoned the goal of unification with the South, raising fears that he could be preparing for a full-scale attack.

The feuding neighbors have intensified the psychological war, exchanging garbage-filled balloons and music over loudspeakers. South Korean troops fired warning shots on Tuesday after North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the heavily fortified border, apparently by mistake.

Formally, the two countries are still at war after the Korean War ended in 1953 with a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty.

After leaving North Korea on Wednesday, Putin is expected to visit Vietnam, which upgraded its ties with the United States during a visit by President Joe Biden last year.

The US rebuked Vietnam for the visit. A US State Department spokesman told NBC News: “No country should provide Putin with a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalise his atrocities.”

Stella Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea, and Mithil Aggarwal reported from Hong Kong.