By Mark Trevelyan
March 26 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a friendship treaty on Thursday aimed at deepening ties between two close allies of Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Lukashenko's trip to Pyongyang 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 Washington.
His visit 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".
Both countries have backed Russia in its war in Ukraine.
Kim has provided Moscow with millions of rounds of ammunition and sent troops to help Russia expel Ukrainian forces who invaded its western Kursk region in 2024 as part of the war in Ukraine.
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.
LAVISH WELCOME
Kim laid on a lavish welcome for Lukashenko on Wednesday, including white-horsed cavalry, flag-waving children and a 21-cannon salute.
The two countries have a small volume of bilateral trade but share long experience of surviving under international 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.
Lukashenko, in power since 1994, is politically and economically dependent on Putin but is also using his closeness to the Russian president as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the United States.
Trump's envoy Coale says Lukashenko has provided a useful perspective on the war in Ukraine, and that he may soon be invited to the White House as talks continue on further releases of what human rights activists say are nearly 900 remaining Belarusian political prisoners.
(Additional reporting by Joyce Lee and Kyu-seok Shim in Seoul, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
