Belarus leader Lukashenko visits North Korea for first time

In a letter to Lukashenko earlier this month, Kim said he was “willing to expand and develop the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation … to a new, higher stage in line with the demands of the new era”, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

The Belarusian leader in return said that “Minsk affirms it has an interest in actively expanding political and economic ties with Pyongyang at all levels”.

Belta quoted Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov as saying that in addition to the treaty of friendship and cooperation, the two sides would agree to cooperate in an array of fields from agriculture to information.

“Our greatest interest … is strengthening truly friendly, partnership relations. We have friends here, and they are waiting for us. Just as we await them in Belarus,” Ryzhenkov said.

PRISON CAMPS

North Korea has been under a barrage of Western sanctions, mostly due to its nuclear weapons programme and missiles activity, but also because of its support for Russia’s war against Ukraine.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have estimated that the North has sent thousands of soldiers to Russia, primarily to the Kursk region, along with artillery shells, missiles and rocket systems.

Around 2,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded, according to estimates from South Korea.

Analysts say North Korea is receiving financial aid, military technology, food and energy supplies from Russia in return. President Vladimir Putin visited in 2024.

This has enabled Pyongyang to lessen dependence on its main long-term backer, China.

International rights organisations accuse the North Korean regime of torture, public executions, prison camps, forced labour and restrictions on the freedom of expression and movement.