Thursday Briefing

Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, North Korea, yesterday.Credit…Pool photo by Kristina Kormilitsyna

Russia and North Korea signed a defense pledge

Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, the leaders of Russia and of North Korea, revived a Cold War-era mutual defense pledge between their two countries yesterday.

The two promised to provide each other with “mutual assistance in the event of aggression,” but it was unclear if such assistance would mean full-fledged military intervention in the event of an attack, as the now-defunct 1961 treaty specified.

But Putin said that Russia “does not exclude the development of military-technical cooperation” with North Korea, per the new agreement. He also promised unspecified technological help. If that includes a few critical technologies Kim has sought to perfect, it could help the North design a warhead that could threaten its many adversaries, starting with the U.S.

Putin also seems finished with his years of helping to curb North Korea’s nuclear weapon and missile programs. “Pyongyang has the right to take reasonable measures to strengthen its own defense capability, ensure national security and protect sovereignty,” he said yesterday, though he did not address whether that included further developing the North’s nuclear weapons.

Vietnam: After leaving North Korea, Putin traveled to Hanoi to shore up a crucial partnership in his war effort.