North Korea, Belarus leaders hold summit and sign friendship treaty

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko left Pyongyang after promising closer bilateral relations between Minsk and Pyongyang with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, state media reported on Friday.

Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, made a two-day official visit to North Korea at Kim’s invitation on Wednesday and Thursday, his first trip to the country.

The two leaders signed a treaty on friendship and cooperation, as well as a number of agreements on diplomacy, agriculture, public health, education and other areas, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said without providing details.

During the summit on Thursday, Lukashenko said Pyongyang-Minsk ties had been upgraded to a “new stage,” and Kim expressed solidarity with the Belarusian leader's policy to “safeguard sovereign rights” on the international stage, according to the KCNA. 

“We oppose the West's illegal pressure on Belarus and express our support and understanding for the measures taken by the Belarusian leadership,” Belarus’s state-run news agency BelTA quoted Kim as saying.

The leaders discussed a range of plans aimed at strengthening high-level exchanges and cooperation across various sectors and international and regional issues of “mutual interest,” the KCNA said.

The leaders expressed satisfaction and confidence that their cooperative ties will expand and develop in a way that meets the interests of their people, the KCNA said.

“Our countries share a common view on key issues of the international agenda,” Lukashenko said, according to BelTA.

The leaders held a photo session and exchanged gifts following the talks. Kim handed a saber and a vase to Lukashenko, which was reciprocated by an assault rifle and other gifts, BelTA reported.

North Korea and Belarus have both supported Russia’s war in Ukraine. Pyongyang has supplied troops and weapons, and Lukashenko has allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory as a staging ground for its military operations.

North Korea and Belarus formally established diplomatic relations in 1992 and have operated a joint trade and economic cooperation committee since 1995.

The once-dormant committee was reactivated in May 2025, and the North's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui visited Belarus to attend a regional security meeting in October of that year.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]