Russia and North Korea sign mutual defence pact.

Russia and North Korea sign mutual defence pact.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, have signed a pact that includes a clause requiring the countries to come to each other’s aid if either is attacked, a move that has raised western concerns about potential Russian aid for Pyongyang’s missile or nuclear programmes.

The inclusion of a mutual defence clause in their comprehensive strategic partnership, which Kim described as an “alliance”, will add to the west’s alarm over growing economic and military ties between North Korea and Russia. The deal was finalised on Wednesday after hours of talks in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.

Putin is expected to arrive in North Korea late on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reported, with a large entourage of government ministers and advisers, including those responsible for the Russian military and weapons procurement. They include his new defence minister, Andrey Belousov, and Denis Manturov, his top deputy prime minister overseeing the defence sesector.

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In an article written for Korea’s Central News Agency on Tuesday, Putin praised North Korea for “firmly supporting” Moscow’s war in Ukraine, writing that he plans to lift relations with Pyongyang to a higher level.

The program is very full,” said Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. “A considerable amount of time will be dedicated to informal contacts between the leaders, as these negotiations … will contain the most important and most sensitive questions.”

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It is a rare trip abroad for Putin, who has limited his international travel to friendly countries since he launched the full-scale invasion and became the subject of an international criminal court arrest warrant for the mass deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.