Putin to sign treaty with Kim Jong Un during North Korea visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are expected to sign a comprehensive cooperation treaty during Putin's imminent visit to the country, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

Putin will go to the isolated dictatorship for what officials described as a "friendly state visit."

Putin had approved a draft treaty prepared by the Russian Foreign Ministry, officials said. It is to be signed in person by Putin and Kim. No details were released on the treaty's contents.

Putin was to visit the eastern Russian city of Yakutsk before arriving in North Korea. He is due to depart from North Korea on Wednesday for a two-day visit to Vietnam, the Kremlin said.

In the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, the streets were decorated with portraits of the Kremlin leader and Russian flags.

It is Putin's first visit to North Korea in 24 years and also a return visit after Kim visited Russia in September.

Ahead of the visit, Putin praised Pyongyang for its "unwavering support for Russia's special military operation in Ukraine," using the Kremlin's wording to refer to the war in Ukraine, in a letter published in Pyongyang's official newspaper Rodong Sinmun.

The Russian leader also thanked North Korea for its solidarity on important international issues, adding that it was "committed and like-minded" and ready to counter the West's aspiration to restrain the establishment of a multipolar world order.

According to Putin, both countries have plans to collaborate on building a security architecture in Eurasia, countering Western sanctions, and establishing independent transaction systems.

The Russian leader had received an invitation from Kim to hold talks in Pyongyang on expanding military cooperation and other issues, the Kremlin said.

Russia's long-standing close ties with North Korea are viewed with great suspicion by the United States and its allies.

In recent months, North Korea has illegally delivered dozens of ballistic missiles and more than 11,000 containers of ammunition, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Monday.

The US and South Korea, which are regarded as hostile states by North Korea, have repeatedly warned against military co-operation between North Korea and Russia. Both countries have rejected accusations that they are involved in arms deals with each other.

North Korea is isolated internationally and subject to tough sanctions due to its nuclear weapons programme.

In September 2023, Kim travelled to Russia on a rare foreign trip, joining Putin for a tour of the Vostochny space launch centre in Russia's far-eastern region of Amur.