North Korea holds a major party meeting this week following the new deal with Russia

SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) — North Korea is expected to hold a full meeting of its ruling Workers’ Party this week to review its policy performance in the first half of the year, amid interest over whether follow-up measures will be discussed. To implement a Signing a new partnership treaty with Russia.

In May, the Political Bureau of the Workers’ Party of Korea decided to hold a general meeting of the party’s Central Committee at the end of June to review the progress made in its economic and other projects during the first half of the year, without revealing other details, such as the date. the meeting.

North Korea usually holds a general party meeting for a few days in June. But the upcoming meeting attracts more attention, given the possibility of discussing detailed measures to expand cooperation with Russia, after signing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty with Moscow.

The head of North Korea’s State Affairs Committee, Kim Jong Un, and Russian President, Vladimir Putin, held a summit in Pyongyang on Wednesday of last week, and signed a wide-ranging treaty, in which they agreed to provide military assistance. , without delay, if any of them are attacked.

It is believed that Article IV of the treaty, which contains 23 paragraphs, could be considered a justification for automatic military intervention in the event of an attack against either country, which would be equivalent to restoring the Cold War-era alliance for the first time in 28 years, since the suspension of the Mutual Defense Treaty in 1996. .

The treaty also indicates that North Korea and Russia could work together to resist international sanctions against Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs. Article 16 of the treaty calls on both sides to oppose “unilateral coercive measures of an extraterritorial nature.”

The new agreement identifies science and technology, space, the peaceful use of nuclear energy and artificial intelligence, among others, as areas of cooperation. This raises concerns that cooperation between North Korea and Russia in such areas could help North Korea develop weapons of mass destruction, banned under UN sanctions.

It is also interesting whether Pyongyang will ratify the treaty at the Korean Workers’ Party meeting. Under North Korea’s constitution, a “key treaty” can only be ratified or rejected by the North Korean leader, although the Supreme People’s Assembly, North Korea’s parliament, approves regular treaties.

After the party’s general meeting this week, North Korea is expected to hold a major session of the Supreme People’s Assembly in an attempt to amend the constitution. The North Korean leader had previously requested that the constitution be amended to define South Korea as “The main enemy“For the North and clarifying its territorial borders, including maritime borders.

Experts on this week’s meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea said Kim may issue a message criticizing South Korea and the United States over the allies’ joint military exercises scheduled for August.

Seoul and Washington intend to organize a conference next August. Annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise (UFS), which Pyongyang has long denounced as a rehearsal for its invasion.

Separately, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived in the port city of Busan in southeastern South Korea on Saturday in a show of force against military threats from North Korea. This month, South Korea, the United States and Japan will celebrate… The first multi-area triathlon exercise.

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