North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is expanding his network of aligned leaders and hosted Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Pyongyang last week. The two signed a friendship and cooperation treaty during the two-day visit, and Lukashenko ordered an embassy be opened in the North Korean capital.
KCNA reported Kim praised Belarusian leadership “for achieving the socio-political stability and economic development of the country and defending sovereign rights in the international arena.” Lukashenko said bilateral relations, though the countries are far apart, “have entered a new development stage” based on long-standing ties.
The leaders discussed increasing exchanges and cooperation across diplomacy, information-sharing, agriculture, education and public health. To seal the developing friendship, Lukashenko presented Kim with a VSK assault rifle, saying through an interpreter, “If enemies invade, you can use it.” Kim gave Lukashenko a cavalry sword in an ornate scabbard.
Observers say the summit moves the Minsk–Moscow–Pyongyang axis forward. Andrei Lankov, a Russian-born history and international relations professor at Seoul’s Kookmin University, said such events boost the two governments’ international prestige, counter suggestions of isolation, and demonstrate bloc solidarity against US influence.
Leveraging closer ties with Vladimir Putin, Kim has pursued a more assertive foreign policy to break out of isolation and strengthen regional influence. Chun In-bum, a retired ROK lieutenant general and senior fellow at the National Institute for Deterrence Studies, said there was no public weapons agreement, but Belarus is likely to seek North Korean missile and drone know-how. He noted that during Lukashenko’s attendance at a Pyongyang military parade he would have been shown weapons “for sale,” and told that other capabilities not visible could also be offered.
That concern is heightened by state media photos showing Kim shortly after Lukashenko’s departure attending a test of a new missile engine analysts link to efforts to develop MIRV (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle) technology. Pyongyang is also investing heavily in nuclear technology, longer-range missiles and drones. Chun warned of proliferation risks if such technologies spread.
North Korea’s drone program has benefited from deployments of personnel to Russia’s war in Ukraine, enhancing battlefield know-how Belarus would value, analysts say. Kim’s outreach to Lukashenko coincides with other diplomatic moves aimed at consolidating alliances: KCNA signed a media cooperation agreement with Russia’s TASS, Air China resumed flights to Pyongyang after six years, and cross-border train services with China restarted. KCNA also quoted Kim thanking Xi Jinping for congratulating him on his re-appointment and saying ties with China are rising to a “new, high stage.”
Chun said North Korea has a limited number of close ideological partners and expects Kim to continue focusing on Russia, China and Belarus as the countries best positioned to support his aims.