[News Today] N. KOREA RATIFIES TREATY WITH RUSSIA

[LEAD]
Following Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean media also reported that Chairman Kim Jong-un signed a new treaty with Russia. The treaty includes military aid if invaded, suggesting more overt North Korean troop deployments to Russia.

[REPORT]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has signed into a law a treaty to establish a comprehensive and strategic partnership with Russia, two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin did the same.

N. Korean Central TV/
The supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea signed the
treaty into law on Nov. 11, 2024.

State media also reported that Russia had also ratified the treaty - interpreted as an attempt to show their military alignment and commitment to the treaty's implementation.

The treaty takes effect from the day both sides exchange ratification instruments. But the South Korean government believes the exchange is a formality and that all necessary procedures have been completed.

The treaty, struck when Putin visited Pyongyang in June, is believed to upgrade bilateral relations to a military alliance.

In particular, Article 4 of the accord states that when either party is attacked and faces a war, the other provides military assistance without delay.

With both sides having ratified the treaty, they are expected to formally recognize North Korea's troop deployment to Russia and have the troops engage in combat.

Amid the possibility of further troop deployment and weapons support from the North, there's also concern of weapons technology transfer from Moscow to Pyongyang.

Prof. Park Won-gon / Ewha Womans Univ.
Further deployment is inevitable if the war lingers on in which case the North
in return could demand sensitive technologies related to nuke, missiles.

As Putin earlier mentioned possible joint drills with North Korea, ever tightening military ties between the two sides are becoming a major destabilizing factor on the Korean Peninsula.

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