Russia can provide military assistance to North Korea if needed, state-run RIA news agency cited the Kremlin as saying, after President Vladimir Putin thanked Pyongyang for sending troops to help expel Ukrainian forces from western Russia.
RIA quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that North Korea's role in combat operations in Russia's Kursk region had demonstrated the effectiveness of a strategic partnership treaty that Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed last year, which included a mutual defense clause. Under the pact, Russia could help North Korea in return, if help was needed, he said.