Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a "comprehensive strategic partnership" on June 19 during the Russian president's first visit in 24 years to the secretive one-party state.
The agreement calls for mutual assistance in the event of an attack by a third country and is intended to take cooperation between the two states to a new level.
Kim said the agreement ushers in a new era, adding that their cooperation on political, military, economic, and other issues is peaceful and aimed at defending the interests of both states.
"I have no doubt that it will become a driving force in the accelerated development of a new multipolar world," Kim said.
A senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after the agreement was signed that North Korea was helping Russia kill Ukrainian civilians.
"There is no doubt that North Korea is actively cooperating with Russia in the military sphere today and deliberately provides resources for the mass murder of Ukrainians," Mykhaylo Podolyak told the AFP new agency. He called for greater international isolation of both countries.
Putin expressed gratitude for Pyongyang's "unwavering support" at the start of a summit with North Korea's Kim that began with a red-carpet welcome on June 19 as the two fiercely anti-Western leaders sought ways to boost cooperation.
The Russian president's visit came as Moscow wages its prolonged war in Ukraine and both countries grapple with Western sanctions punishing aggression or, in Pyongyang's case, rogue nuclear and other weapons programs.
The two leaders -- both of whom have become further isolated on the international stage as their relationship deepens -- exchanged platitudes before signing the new partnership agreement amid accusations that North Korea is supplying Moscow with weapons and ammunition for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Putin Visits North Korea To Boost Cooperation Amid Ukraine War
As analysts pored over the agreement for signs that the two countries were codifying their warming relations, Putin criticized international sanctions on Pyongyang for its nuclear and missile development programs, calling them "illegitimate" and "politically motivated."
In turn, Kim pledged his country's "full support and solidarity to the Russian government, army, and people in carrying out the special military operation in Ukraine to protect sovereignty, security interests, and territorial integrity." He did not elaborate.
Moscow has banned the term "war" for what it terms a "special military operation" in reference to its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine or the occupation and illegal annexation of Crimea alongside support for armed separatism in eastern Ukraine that began in 2014.
Multiple votes in the United Nations have expressed support for Ukrainian territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, including Crimea and four eastern regions that abut Russia.
SEE ALSO: China In Eurasia Briefing: Did China Undermine Ukraine's Peace Summit?Before arriving, Putin said he appreciated North Korea’s firm support of his military actions in Ukraine, according to an op-ed piece that appeared in North Korean state media on June 18.
Their countries will continue to "resolutely oppose" what Putin described as Western ambitions "to hinder the establishment of a multipolar world order based on justice, mutual respect for sovereignty, considering each other's interests."
The United States and its allies have accused North Korea of violating UN Security Council resolutions by supplying Russia with arms, including ballistic missiles, to use in Ukraine.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a joint press briefing with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington on June 18 that Russia's war in Ukraine was being propped up by North Korea, China, and Iran.
NATO countries are also "concerned about the potential support that Russia provides to North Korea when it comes to supporting their missile and nuclear programs," Stoltenberg said.
SEE ALSO: After Ukraine Peace Summit, Question Remains Whether Russia Will Come To The TableFrom Pyongyang, Putin traveled on to Vietnam for talks that are expected to be focused on trade. Putin praised Vietnam for its "balanced" stance on the Ukraine war and listed progress on payments, energy, and trade in an opinion piece published on on June 19 in the newspaper of Vietnam's Communist Party.
The United States, which has spent years strengthening ties and accelerating trade with Vietnam, criticized Putin's planned visit.
A U.S. Embassy spokesperson in Vietnam said "no country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalize his atrocities."