Moscow said Tuesday that a defense pact it signed with North Korea earlier this year is "unambiguous," as tensions flared over Pyongyang's destruction of roads leading to South Korea.
North Korea blew up sections of roads and rail lines on its side of the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas on Tuesday, prompting Seoul to conduct a "counterfire" operation in response.
When asked about a treaty signed between Russia and North Korea in June, providing "mutual assistance" in case either country faces aggression, the Kremlin said the wording "does not need to be clarified."
"It's quite unambiguous. The main thing is that the treaty implies strategic, deepened cooperation in all areas, including security," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
President Vladimir Putin signed the agreement during a visit to Pyongyang this summer, when leader Kim Jong Un praised him as North Korea's "dearest friend."
The West believes North Korea is supplying Moscow with weapons to use in its war on Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Pyongyang last week of sending troops to his country.
Putin sent a bill to lawmakers ratifying the defense treaty with North Korea, but many details remain unclear, including whether Pyongyang would be covered by Russia's nuclear umbrella.
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