MOSCOW, June 22 Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chairman of State Affairs of the DPRK Kim Jong-un decided to conclude a new basic agreement during the summit at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in September last year, said the Ambassador of the Russian Federation and the DPRK Alexander Matsegora.
«The summit was, in fact, the result of a lot of joint work, which began immediately after the meeting of the two leaders at the Vostochny cosmodrome. There, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Kim Jong-un made a fundamental decision to prepare a new basic agreement that would meet the achieved level of relations and laid the foundation for their further development for the long term,” the ambassador said.
He noted that all recent months and weeks have been filled with “painstaking work of government departments and administrations of the leaders of the two countries,” which resulted in the current summit. During it, Russia and the DPRK concluded a new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, containing, among other things, provisions on mutual military assistance.
““Our embassy also did not stand aside, of course. My contacts with the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for example, took place almost on a daily basis,” Matsegora said.
He expressed great gratitude to his Korean colleagues for the established “comradely, very trusting relationships” that made it possible to “solve the most difficult problems.”
Kim Jong-un visited Russia for the second time in September 2023, making a seven-day tour of the Far East. His meeting with the President of the Russian Federation took place at the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur region. The leaders of the two countries held negotiations as part of delegations and tete-a-tete, and also inspected the installation and testing building of the Soyuz-2 and Angara launch vehicles. Then Kim Jong-un also visited Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Vladivostok, getting acquainted with Russian military equipment, ballet and economic achievements of the Far Eastern regions of Russia.
The negotiations on the Russian side were attended by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who visited Pyongyang in July of the same year; the North Korean side was represented, among others, by the head of the department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Marshal of the DPRK Ground Forces Pak Chong-chon, and the DPRK Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam. In addition, the North Korean leader was accompanied on the trip by the deputy head of the Central Military Commission, Lee Byung-chol, the commanders of the air force and navy, other high-ranking officials and military personnel.
Commenting on the results of the negotiations between the leaders of the two countries, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov then reported that they “were very, very constructive.” According to him, military-technical cooperation is a “sensitive area,” but Moscow and Pyongyang “intend to develop relations in all areas.” We can talk about both military cooperation and exchange of views on the most pressing issues in the field of security, but these issues “should not become the subject of any public disclosure or announcement,” Peskov emphasized.
Putin visited the DPRK on a friendly state visit on June 18-19. This was Putin's first visit to Pyongyang since July 2000 and the first state visit in the history of bilateral relations — the highest category under diplomatic protocol. The leader of the DPRK personally met the Russian President at the airport and escorted him to his residence. The next day, an official welcoming ceremony with a guard of honor took place, which took place in the main square of the country, where tens of thousands of Pyongyang residents gathered to greet the Russian leader. The North Korean capital was lavishly decorated with Russian flags, portraits of Putin and posters with slogans about the inviolability of Russian-Korean friendship and cohesion.
Russian-Korean negotiations took place at the Kumsusan State Residence; they were held both in the format of delegations and with lengthy one-on-one communication between the leaders. The main result was the signing of a new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, which returned the provision for the immediate provision of military and other assistance using all available means, which previously existed in the basic agreement between the USSR and the DPRK. Following the talks, Putin and Kim Jong-un made statements to the press, walked together around the residence, exchanged gifts, and attended a gala concert and state reception on behalf of the North Korean leader. In addition, the leaders of Russia and the DPRK together laid a wreath at the monument dedicated to the contribution of the Soviet army and people to the liberation of Korea from the Japanese imperialists, and visited the Pyongyang Church of the Life-Giving Trinity. The North Korean leader also personally saw off the Russian guest at the airport.
Commenting on the results of his trip to the DPRK, Putin admitted that he did not expect such a large-scale reception in North Korea. He expressed hope that the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement signed with Pyongyang will become a deterrent that will not allow the smoldering Korean crisis to develop into an active phase. Putin emphasized that mutual defense provisions apply “in the event of military aggression,” and in this sense, South Korea and other countries that do not intend to attack the DPRK have nothing to fear. The Russian president also compared the sanctions regime against the DPRK with the blockade of Leningrad, declaring the need to work on their gradual lifting. At the same time, Putin warned Seoul against supplying lethal weapons to the combat zone in Ukraine, saying that this would be a big mistake. He noted that Russia reserves the right to supply weapons to other countries, not excluding the DPRK, and Moscow can, if necessary, make decisions that are unlikely to please the leadership of South Korea.