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AMNA NAWAZ: Russian and 
North Korea have taken a step 
toward improving relations,

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as President Vladimir Putin 
and Kim Jong-un signed a 
strategic partnership agreement

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today. Both sides pledged 
to help each other's 
defense and security and 
to fight off sanctions.

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Stephanie Sy has the story.

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STEPHANIE SY: As the Russian 
jet rolled in to Pyongyang,

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the North Koreans rolled 
out the red carpet. Leader 
Kim Jong-un welcomed

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President Vladimir Putin 
to North Korea for the 
first time in 24 years.

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As Putin looks for support 
for his war in Ukraine, Kim 
hopes to find an economic and

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military ally. The tone for the 
summit was set with a sturdy 
embrace. In recent years,

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the countries have flirted 
with stronger ties. Kim Jong-un 
first traveled to Russia

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in 2019 and again in 2023 to 
meet Putin. But neither trip 
produced a formal alliance.

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The U.S. accuses North Korea 
of sending ammunition and 
weapons to Russia for its

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war in Ukraine and worries 
that, in exchange, Russia is 
boosting North Korea's nuclear

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program. Kim and Putin have 
denied it, since such a trade 
would violate U.N. sanctions.

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But, in March, a Russian veto on 
the Security Council ended the

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U.N.'s monitoring of nuclear 
sanctions on North Korea 
and raised alarm bells.

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VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russian 
President (through 
translator): We highly 
appreciate your consistent

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and unwavering support for 
Russian policy. I'm referring to 
our fight against the hegemonic

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policy imposed for decades, 
the imperialist policy 
of the United States 
and its satellites.

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STEPHANIE SY: Today's 
summit formalized the

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strongest relationship 
between the two countries 
since the Cold War.

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KIM JONG-UN, North Korean 
Leader (through translator): 
Our two countries' relations

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have been elevated to a 
new high-level of alliance,

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laying the legal groundwork 
for the grand ideas of 
leadership of the two countries.

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STEPHANIE SY: The treaty 
includes military-technical 
cooperation between the two

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countries, a mutual defense 
pact and opposition to Western 
sanctions against North Korea.

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Before the agreement was 
announced, the Pentagon 
raised red flags.

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MAJ. GEN. PATRICK 
RYDER, Pentagon Press 
Secretary: The deepening

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cooperation between Russia 
and the DPRK is something 
that should be of concern.

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JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO 
Secretary-General: What 
happens in Europe matters for

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Asia and what happens 
in Asia matters for us.

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STEPHANIE SY: NATO 
Secretary-General Jens 
Stoltenberg appeared with

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Secretary of State 
Antony Blinken yesterday 
ahead of the summit.

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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. 
Secretary of State: We have 
seen, as you have said,

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Russia try in desperation 
to develop and to 
strengthen relations 
with countries that can

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provide it with what it needs to 
continue the war of aggression 
that it started against Ukraine.

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STEPHANIE SY: In Pyongyang, 
the state visit came to an 
end with dinner and drinks,

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as the two leaders made a show 
of their deepening partnership.

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While the details of what 
the Russians and North

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Koreans agreed to has not 
been made public, some 
observers are concerned.

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For more, we turn to Robert 
Gallucci. He was the U.S. State 
Department's lead negotiator

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with North Korea in 1994, 
when the North agreed to 
freeze its nuclear program in

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exchange for economic benefits. 
He's also a professor at 
Georgetown University.

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Robert, thank you so much 
for joining the "NewsHour."

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So, Putin and Kim announced 
they signed a comprehensive 
strategic partnership treaty,

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and Putin called it a 
breakthrough document. 
As we start to see 
some details come out,

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do you see it that 
way? Is it a big deal?

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ROBERT GALLUCCI, Georgetown 
University: It is 
important and negative. 
I think it is both those

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things. But it's not a 
fundamental change in the nature 
of relations of major states.

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It isn't good news in terms 
of what the North Koreans have 
been supplying the Russians,

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so that they can more 
effectively prosecute 
their invasion and war

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against Ukraine. That's not 
good news. And on the other 
hand, we can't be really

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sure what it is exactly 
the Russians are going to 
transfer to the North Koreans.

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STEPHANIE SY: Yes, let's 
break down the significant 
parts of what we do know,

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starting with what Putin called 
military technical cooperation.

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Do you think that is a 
concerning development, 
the announcement of that? 
And what could it mean

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as far as Pyongyang's 
nuclear weapons capability? 
What could they transfer?

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ROBERT GALLUCCI: The key 
issue is, will the Russians 
materially assist the North

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Koreans in having a more 
effective, more threatening 
nuclear weapons capability?

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And by that, I mean not only 
the weapons themselves. Will 
they be thermonuclear weapons

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assistance, as opposed to simple 
fission weapons? Will now their 
yield go up? Will the confidence

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that North Koreans have in their 
weapons go up, thanks to Russian 
assistance? Will the delivery

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vehicles, the ballistic 
missiles, particularly 
the intercontinental 
ballistic missiles?

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There have for a long time been 
real questions about whether the 
North should have any confidence

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in their ICBMs, their ability to 
deliver nuclear weapons against 
the continental United States,

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given that they can't be sure 
that the warheads containing 
these nuclear weapons

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would actually survive 
the trip and reentry 
and work effectively.

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And it's not clear at all 
when, in what we understand 
will be the language of this,

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when and if it's released, that 
the Russians are committing 
to these kinds of transfers.

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STEPHANIE SY: I assume 
those would be violations of 
international law and sanctions.

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Both countries have been 
under varying sanctions, 
especially North Korea. And if

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you believe U.S. officials, 
both are already violating these 
sanctions through these arms

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and ammunition transfers to do 
with Ukraine. You have engaged 
in high-level diplomacy with

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North Korea in the past. What 
can and should be done now 
by the Biden administration?

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ROBERT GALLUCCI: We 
should deplore what the 
Russian moves signals,

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and that is first no longer a 
willingness on the part of the 
Russians to see the direction

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of events to lead to an 
eventual denuclearization 
of the peninsula.

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In other words, the Russians had 
been aboard with the Chinese and 
sort of the rest of the world

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at sanctioning, U.N. 
sanctions, sanctioning 
the North Koreans for

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their ballistic missile and 
nuclear weapons development.

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I think this, if it does 
nothing else, signals 
the Russians are no

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longer aboard. And that 
ought to be deplored. It 
ought to be criticized.

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STEPHANIE SY: You said 
it was bad news. Is it 
also bad news that part

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of this agreement includes 
a mutual defense pact?

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ROBERT GALLUCCI: I do 
not know what it means. I 
certainly -- even if I had the

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text in front of me -- and 
nobody does, as I understand 
it -- it is hard to tell.

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I mean, when the Russians 
make a deal, and it's -- they 
have been clear -- they don't

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call it an alliance. The 
North called it an alliance, 
but not the Russians. I mean,

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the last time the Russians 
made a security commitment that 
I know of like this was 1994

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in the Budapest Memorandum when 
they promised that they would 
not threaten Ukraine's security.

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Well, we all know what that was 
worth. We all ought to remember 
nothing has changed here,

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really. The North has been 
providing this military 
aid to the Russians. The

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Russians are still pursuing 
their invasion of Ukraine.

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We have talked about the one 
thing that might be important 
and different, and that

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is if the Russians started 
supplying technical 
assistance to the weapons 
of mass destruction

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and delivery vehicles 
that the North Koreans 
have been developing 
for the last 25 years.

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STEPHANIE SY: Robert 
Gallucci, thank you so much 
for joining us with your 
analysis. Appreciate it.

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ROBERT GALLUCCI: Thank you much.