Russia in new military pact with North Korea; denies call with Donald

Russia and North Korea have ratified a new defence pact as the Kremlin denied a reported call between Vladimir Putin and President-elect Donald Trump. Follow updates.

North Korea has ratified a landmark defence pact with Russia, state media reported, sealing a deepening security cooperation between the two nations amid Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The deal “was ratified as a decree of the President of the State Affairs,” the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said, referring to Kim Jong Un by his formal title.

The notice comes after Russian politicians voted unanimously last week to ratify the deal, which President Vladimir Putin later signed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. Picture: AFP

Mr Putin and Mr Jong Un signed the strategic partnership treaty in June, during the Kremlin chief’s visit to Pyongyang.

It obligates both states to provide military assistance “without delay” in the case of an attack on the other and to cooperate internationally to oppose Western sanctions.

Mr Putin hailed the deal in June as a “breakthrough document.” 

North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui recently visited Moscow and said her country would “stand firmly by our Russian comrades until victory day”.

She called Moscow’s offensive against Ukraine a “sacred struggle” and said Pyongyang believed in Mr Putin’s “wise leadership”.

KREMLIN DENIES REPORTED CALL BETWEEN PUTIN-TRUMP

It comes as Russia denied a reported call between Mr Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump on the Ukraine conflict and said it saw no signs the West was ready for talks.

The Washington Post said on Sunday that Mr Trump had spoken by phone on Thursday with Mr Putin, telling him not to inflame the conflict but this has been refuted by Moscow.

Mr Trump’s election to the White House has the potential to upend the almost three-year conflict and has thrown into question Washington’s multi-billion dollar support for Kyiv, crucial to its defence.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the report that the two leaders had spoken, telling journalists it was “false”.

Donald Trump (L) and Vladimir Putin shake hands before attending a joint press conference after a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, on July 16, 2018. Picture: AFP

Steven Cheung, Mr Trump’s communications director, told AFP in a written statement: “We do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders”.

The Republican said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Mr Putin.

Mr Trump has not said how he intends to strike a peace deal on Ukraine or what terms he is proposing.

He spoke by phone with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday and the pair “agreed to work together towards a return to peace in Europe”, according to Scholz’s spokesman.

But Mr Peskov said “there are no preparations” for Mr Putin to hold talks with Mr Scholz and it was too early to say whether Europe’s position on Ukraine had changed.

“We see a certain nervousness, various fears among Europeans over the election of Mr Trump as US president,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

Mr Putin last week “repeated that he is open to all talks”, Mr Peskov said, but “no preparation is being carried out now. We have not received any signals”.

“If they say that some signals will come out, then we have to wait.”

So far, “European leaders are continuing... to try to achieve a strategic defeat of Russia”,

RUSSIAN STRIKES ON UKRAINE CONTINUE

Air alerts wailed across Ukraine early Monday local time as Russian strikes killed at least six people, a day after record drone attacks by both sides.

Ukraine and many in the West fear any settlement that rewards Mr Putin would embolden the Kremlin leader and lead to more aggression.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned that letting Russia win in Ukraine would represent a loss for the United States, as Mr Trump prepares to return to the presidency.

“Certainly it would not be a victory for the American leadership if Ukraine crumbles down and Putin wins the war,” Mr Borrell told AFP on the first visit to Kyiv by a senior EU official since Trump’s US election triumph.

A rescuer working at the site of a Russian night strike in Mykolaiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Picture: AFP

A damaged residential building at the site of a Russian night strike in Zaporizhzhia, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Picture: AFP

Meanwhile, Russian strikes have damaged a dam near the front line in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, its governor said, warning that nearby villages could be threatened by rising water levels.

Moscow’s army is rapidly advancing in the Donetsk region and are closing in on the town of Kurakhove, which lies next to the reservoir and had a pre-war population of around 18,000 people.

“The Russians damaged the dam of the reservoir of Kurakhove. This strike potentially threatens residents of settlements on the Vovcha River, both in Donetsk and Dnipro regions,” Governor Vadym Filashkin said.

50K RUSSIAN AND NKOREA TROOPS COMBINE

Russia and North Korea have massed a combined force of 50,000 troops which will begin a major assault against Ukraine within days.

The New York Times reports the operation to reclaim the territory Ukraine seized in the Kursk region of Russia will unfold simultaneous to their current offensive in Ukraine’s east thanks to the involvement of the North Koreans.

US and Ukrainian officials confirmed to the New York Times that Russia was able to assemble the intimidating force without pulling any of their troops from the battlefield in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine had hoped to use the seized Russian territory as a bargaining chip in ceasefire negotiations so it is imperative they be able to hold it.

The 50,000 strong Russian and North Korean force is training in a nearby part of the Kursk region still held by Russia as they prepare for the assault.

North Korean troops are formiddable. Picture: AFP

UKRAINE UNLEASHES UNPRECEDENTED ATTACK ON MOSCOW

Russia says it has downed 34 Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow in the largest attack on the capital since Russia began its offensive in Ukraine in 2022.

The attack, which forced the temporary closure of three Moscow airports, injured a 52-year-old woman and set two homes on fire in the village of Stanovoye in the Moscow region, officials said.

While the Ukrainian capital Kyiv is regularly targeted by massive Russian drone and missile strikes, attacks on Moscow are much less frequent.

The defence ministry said Russia’s air defence had downed a total of 70 Ukrainian drones between 3pm and 6pm (AEDT) over six regions.

Rescuers work at the site of a drone attack in the village of Stanovoye, Moscow region, on November 10. Picture: AFP

The ministry said 34 drones were downed over the Moscow region and the rest over Bryansk, Orlov, Kaluga, Tula and Kursk.

In the Moscow region, local officials said the drones were downed in the Ramenskoye, Kolomna and Domodedovo districts.

Russia’s defence ministry said earlier it had downed a total of 23 Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk, Rostov, Belgorod and Kursk regions, which all border Ukraine and where drone strikes are more frequent.

Rescuers work to extinguish a fire in a building following a drone attack in the village of Stanovoye, on November 10. Picture: Tatyana Makeyeva/AFP

Ukraine has said the attacks, which often target energy production sites, are a response to Russian bombings on its territory since fighting began in February 2022.

Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities in the night between Thursday and Friday last week killed at least one person and wounded more than three dozen more.

The air force said Moscow had launched five missiles, 92 drones as well as glide bombs across Ukraine overnight. Its units downed four missiles and 62 drones, the air force said in a statement.

– with AFP