The Russian parliament’s upper house has adopted a mutual military aid contract with North Korea.
The action comes as Ukraine claims its troops have fought for the first time with North Korean units supporting Russia’s incursion.
The comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, agreed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a visit to Pyongyang in June, requires Russia and North Korea to instantly give military aid using “all means” if either is attacked.
The upper chamber, the Federation Council, has endorsed the deal, which was ratified by the lower house, the State Duma, on October 24.
President Putin met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, who was on an official visit to Russia.
Ms Choe repeated Pyongyang’s support “for the just fight of Russia’s military and people to defend their country’s sovereign rights and security interests” in Ukraine during her meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Kiev announced on Tuesday that Ukraine’s army launched artillery against North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk border region, where Ukrainian forces had advanced into Russia.
This was the first official word that Ukrainian and North Korean forces had engaged in battle after Pyongyang reportedly deployed 10,000 troops.
In an interview with South Korea’s state channel, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that Pyongyang’s direct engagement in Europe’s biggest battle since World War II began with “small-scale” fighting between Ukrainian and North Korean troops.
Mr Umerov told the channel that North Korean soldiers are mixed with Russian troops and misidentified on their uniforms, making it difficult to determine whether there were any North Korean losses during the conflict.
Russian forces attacked the southern city of Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday morning, killing six people and injuring 23 others, according to regional Governor Ivan Fedorov.
