North Korea doubles down on Its alliance with Russia, for now

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reaffirmed his country's military and strategic alliance with Russia, led by Vladimir Putin. This move is seen as a way for Kim to strengthen his position, but its success depends on the outcome of the war in Ukraine and its impact on Russia.

According to The Mainichi, North Korea and Russia have agreed to cooperate in the energy and economic sectors. The agreement, which was reached during a dialogue between North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, includes plans for Russia to build a new refinery in North Korea and support an increase in petroleum production capacity. In return, North Korea will provide Russia with fuel.

The partnership, which has not been officially announced, involves constructing a new refinery in North Korea with the capability to produce up to 300,000 tons of fuel for aircraft and diesel fuel. Additionally, representatives from the Russian company Lengiproneftekhim and the Sungri Oil Refinery in North Korea will discuss the possibility of producing 800,000 tons of petroleum products annually.

Brief written by urgent.news from Asia Times, The Mainichi — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.