(Bloomberg) -- Russia’s upper house of parliament ratified a mutual-defense pact with North Korea, amid US and European alarm over Pyongyang’s support for President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
The comprehensive strategic partnership that Putin signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June commits the two sides to assist each other if one of them is attacked. Russia’s lower house of parliament ratified the accord last month, on the same day that Putin avoided answering whether North Korean troops were already in the country.
Ukraine, the US and South Korea have all reported that about 10,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces occupy part of the border territory. Ukraine said Monday that its troops had engaged North Korean soldiers for the first time, following the deployment that Kyiv’s NATO allies have called an escalation of the Kremlin’s war.
Why North Korean Troops in Russia Worry Ukraine: QuickTake
Kim vowed to “unconditionally support” Russia in its invasion of Ukraine during Putin’s first visit to Pyongyang in 24 years. US President Joe Biden said last week that Ukraine should strike North Korean forces if they enter the country to fight.
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