By Mark Trevelyan
March 26 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a friendship treaty on Thursday with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and presented him with an automatic rifle at a summit between two of Russia's main allies in its war with Ukraine.
"Just in case enemies appear!" Lukashenko joked - drawing laughter from Kim, who examined the weapon with interest and tried out the reloading mechanism. In return, he gave his guest a vase made of shells, with an inlaid image of Lukashenko.
The summit in Pyongyang brought together two leaders, both under international sanctions, who have provided crucial backing for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the four-year war.
Kim has provided Moscow with millions of rounds of ammunition and sent troops to help Russia expel Ukrainian forces who seized part of its western Kursk region in 2024.
Lukashenko allowed Belarus to be used as a launchpad for Russia's invasion in February 2022, and subsequently agreed to host Russian tactical nuclear missiles on its territory, which borders three NATO alliance countries.
LUKASHENKO'S BALANCING ACT
Lukashenko's visit to Pyongyang - the first in his 33-year rule - highlighted a diplomatic balancing act, as he strengthens links with countries friendly to Russia and hostile to the West while trying to normalise relations with the United States.
His trip followed a meeting last week with U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy John Coale and the release of 250 political prisoners in return for a further easing of U.S. sanctions on Belarus.
Belarusian state news agency Belta quoted Lukashenko as telling Kim that relations between their countries were entering a "fundamentally new stage".
It quoted Kim as saying the two sides shared joint positions on many issues, and that "we oppose undue pressure on Belarus from the West".
The two countries have a small volume of bilateral trade but share long experience of surviving under sanctions - North Korea because of its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and Belarus over its human rights record and backing for Putin in Ukraine.
"The agenda is obvious: how to bypass sanctions and deepen military cooperation," said Franak Viacorka, chief of staff to exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
"For Belarusians, this visit means nothing — it brings no benefits, no change, no hope. This is not about people or the country. It’s a meeting of dictators, for dictators," he said in a message exchange with Reuters.
(Additional reporting by Joyce Lee and Kyu-seok Shim in Seoul, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
