Belarus’s Lukashenko makes first visit to North Korea in bid to deepen ties

Belarus and North Korea are expected to sign a treaty of friendship as their leaders meet in Pyongyang.Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has begun his first official visit to North Korea, in a bid to strengthen ties between the two countries united by their support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and accusations of authoritarianism and rights violations.Belarusian state news agency Belta said the two-day visit that kicked off on Wednesday aimed to “identify key areas of mutual interest and the most promising projects for implementation”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump confirms meeting with China’s Xi Jinping delayed as war on Iran rageslist 2 of 3Kim Jong Un reappointed as president of North Korealist 3 of 3Kim Jong Un says North Korea will never give up on nuclear weaponsend of listLukashenko was quoted by Belta as saying “the time has come to step up relations”. “The current situation is simply pushing us into each other’s arms,” he added.The Belarusian president said they planned to sign a “treaty of friendship” and “about 10 agreements” during the visit.Kim Jong Un and Lukashenko met in September in Beijing when they attended a military parade at Tiananmen Square, where the North Korean leader reportedly extended an invitation.In a letter to Lukashenko earlier this month, Kim said he was “willing to expand and develop the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation … to a new, higher stage in line with the demands of the new era”, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.The Belarusian leader, in return, said that, “Minsk affirms it has an interest in actively expanding political and economic ties with Pyongyang at all levels.”North Korea has been under Western sanctions, mostly due to its nuclear weapons programme and missile activity, but also because of its support for Russia’s war against Ukraine.