(Adnkronos) – Belarus and North Korea have signed a “treaty of friendship and cooperation” during President Alexander Lukashenko’s first official visit to Pyongyang. “Our economies are complementary, we need each other and we must move forward in this direction,” Lukashenko said, according to a statement from the Belarusian presidency. “The new treaty – said Kim Jong Un – will constitute the legal basis that will ensure the stable development of bilateral relations in the future.”
The Belarusian leader is on a two-day visit to North Korea, where he received a warm welcome from Kim yesterday. “The friendly relations between our countries, dating back to the Soviet era, have never been interrupted” and now “are entering a fundamentally new phase,” Lukashenko declared, for whom the new treaty “clearly and openly establishes the objectives and principles of our cooperation and defines the institutional framework for future mutually beneficial processes.” Minsk and Pyongyang have supported Moscow in its war in Ukraine: Pyongyang sent ground troops and weapons, while Belarus served as a launchpad for the 2022 Russian invasion.
Alexander Lukashenko and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un already met in September in Beijing, where they attended a military parade. In a letter addressed to the Belarusian leader in early March, Kim stated that he was “willing to expand and develop traditional friendly relations and cooperation (…) to elevate them to a higher level,” according to KCNA. Footage broadcast by Belarusian state media showed Lukashenko offering Kim what appeared to be an automatic rifle. Kim made a gesture to load the rifle and said, “Thank you.” “There you go,” Lukashenko replied, adding, “In case enemies appear.” The video also shows Kim gifting Lukashenko a large mosaic vase with his portrait.
