North Korea and Russia’s New Pact: A Little Bit of Something and A Whole Lot of Nothing?

On June 19, the government evaluated that North Korea and Russia had opened the possibility of mutual military cooperation through a summit, but “no concrete action plan has come out.”

In a call today, a high-ranking South Korean government official explained, “Military cooperation is what the two countries (North Korea and Russia) are doing now, and it came out because they need each other’s cooperation in a sanctioned position.” According to Russian news agencies RIA Novosti and Interfax, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un held an expanded summit and one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 19 and signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement.

In the agreement, North Korea and Russia specified they would provide mutual support in case one side was attacked.

This is lower in level than the automatic military intervention clause in the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance signed in 1961 and abolished in 1996. However, it is higher than the Joint Declaration of North Korea and Russia signed by Putin during his visit to North Korea in 2000 and the late Kim Jong Il. The Joint Declaration of North Korea and Russia states that if there is a need for consultation and cooperation due to the creation of a threat to peace and security or a risk of aggression against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or Russia, they will indicate their willingness to contact each other without delay.

South Korea’s high-ranking government official stated, “They announced conditions that would work if the two countries were invaded, but isn’t there a probability of that happening ?” adding, “It seems like a promise about a reality that does not exist in this world.”

This official drew the line on the North Korean-Russian agreement based on the information the government obtained, saying, “There is room for political judgment to be involved. It cannot be seen as automatic military intervention.”