North Korea ratifies major defense treaty with Russia WSOC TV [Video]

SEOUL, South Korea — (AP) — North Korea ratified a major defense treaty with Russia stipulating mutual military aid, the North’s state media reported Tuesday, as the U.S., South Korea and Ukraine say North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

Russia had completed the ratification of the treaty last week after it was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June. It is considered both countries’ biggest defense deal since the end of the Cold War.

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty will take effect when both sides exchange documents on the ratification, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said.

North Korea ratified the treaty through a decree signed Monday by the country’s president of state affairs, KCNA said, using one of Kim’s titles.

North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People’s Assembly, has the right to ratify treaties but Kim can unilaterally ratify major ones, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry.

The treatyrequires …