North Korea and Belarus sign a new friendship and cooperation treaty in Pyongyang
North Korea and Belarus have signed a "friendship and cooperation" treaty after Kim Jong-un hosted President Alexander Lukashenko in Pyongyang, according to state media reported by AFP. The meeting was presented as a major diplomatic moment between two governments already isolated by Western sanctions and closely associated with Russia's war against Ukraine.
The visit was Lukashenko's first to North Korea and came with the full ceremonial treatment. Belta showed the two leaders hugging during a welcome program that included an artillery salute, goose-stepping soldiers and a large crowd waving flags at Kim Il Sung Square. The spectacle mattered because both governments have used state ceremony to project legitimacy at a time when they face pressure abroad and hardening criticism over human rights at home.
Lukashenko used the visit to argue that relations between the two states should be revived and modernized. He said the friendship between Belarus and North Korea had roots in the Soviet era and had never been interrupted. He also framed the current moment as one in which independent countries should work more closely together to defend sovereignty and protect citizens' wellbeing. That language fits the broader diplomatic tone of the trip: solidarity among sanctioned states and an effort to normalize official contacts that would once have been more exceptional.
The report also placed the meeting in the context of both countries' support for Russia's war in Ukraine. North Korea has sent thousands of troops into the conflict, with AFP estimating that about 2,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed. Belarus has long been one of Moscow's closest allies and has provided political and logistical backing to the Kremlin during the war. The treaty therefore carries significance beyond symbolism, because it connects two states already aligned with Russia and under sustained international scrutiny.
Even so, the report does not spell out every provision of the agreement. What is clear is that the two sides chose to formalize a relationship already framed in ideological and strategic terms. For Pyongyang, the visit offered another image of diplomatic access. For Minsk, it was a chance to display contact with another sanctioned capital and project an image of geopolitical independence.
The treaty is best understood as part of a wider effort by both governments to build networks outside the Western orbit. The ceremony, the rhetoric and the signing all point to that same objective: consolidating ties among states willing to challenge the prevailing international order.
