Relationship dossier
North Korea
Russia
Relationship assessment
North Korea and Russia have deepened military and strategic cooperation, including a 2024 mutual-assistance treaty.
North Korea toward Russia
+80North Korea has supplied Russia with ammunition and other military matériel for its war against Ukraine. Pyongyang also signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty with Moscow in June 2024, including a mutual-assistance commitment.
Russia toward North Korea
+80Russia has strengthened strategic ties with North Korea, signing a 2024 comprehensive partnership treaty that includes mutual assistance. Moscow has also provided diplomatic support, including its March 2024 veto of a UN Security Council resolution extending the mandate of the panel monitoring sanctions on North Korea.
Overall relationship
+75The relationship has shifted into a close strategic and military partnership, with North Korean military supplies to Russia and Russian diplomatic support for Pyongyang reinforcing a 2024 treaty that includes mutual assistance. The scope and durability of the security relationship are not yet clear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
North Korea and Russia have developed a close strategic partnership, marked by North Korean military supplies for Russia’s war against Ukraine, Russian diplomatic support for Pyongyang, and a 2024 treaty providing for mutual assistance. The relationship has intensified substantially in recent years, though the practical scope and durability of its security commitments remain uncertain.
Key developments
Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution extending the mandate of the panel monitoring sanctions on North Korea.
North Korea and Russia signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty that includes a mutual-assistance commitment.
North Korea supplied Russia with ammunition and other military matériel for its war against Ukraine.
Major uncertainties
- The scale and terms of military and economic cooperation are not fully clear.
- The implementation and practical scope of the 2024 mutual-assistance commitment remain uncertain.