North Korea and Belarus signed an agreement on cooperation and friendship on Thursday, Belarusian media reported. The president there, Alexander Lukashenko, previously stated that relations between the countries are “entering a new phase”. TASR writes about it according to AFP.
- North Korea and Belarus signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation.
- Alexander Lukashenko described the current relations with the DPRK as a fundamentally new phase.
- The Belarusian president declared that independent countries must cooperate more closely.
- In Pyongyang, Lukashenko paid his respects to the poor North Korean leaders and the Soviets.
- During the two-day visit, the leaders of Belarus and the DPRK plan to sign approximately ten agreements.
“Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un sign Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation,” the Belarusian news agency BelTA reported.
Lukashenko arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday. According to Belarusian media, he declared that “the friendly relations between our countries, which date back to the times of the Soviet Union, have never been interrupted.” “Today, thanks to comprehensive and stable development, we are entering a fundamentally new phase,” he noted.
At the same time, the President of Belarus stated that independent countries must currently cooperate more closely in order to “protected their sovereignty and improved the welfare of (their) citizens”. According to him, this is necessary because the world is at a time when those in power “openly ignore and violate the norms of international law.” AFP reports that he was probably referring to the United States and Israel.
During his visit, Lukashenko visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, where he paid his respects to the late North Korean leaders and in this mausoleum he placed a basket of flowers in his name as well as a bouquet sent by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also laid a wreath at the monument dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the Soviet Union.
Lukashenko was invited by Kim Jong-un to his two-day visit to the DPRK. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Maxim Ryžankov, claimed that the leaders should sign a total of around ten different agreements during this visit.
