KB News Desk
North Korea and Belarus are set to sign a visa-waiver agreement, in the latest sign of rapidly expanding ties between Pyongyang and Moscow’s close ally as North Korea deepens a Russia-centered network of cooperation amid the war in Ukraine.
According to Belarusian state media, Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov said the two countries were nearing an agreement allowing their citizens to travel visa-free, and that the issue was discussed during talks with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui.
A draft of the agreement has already been prepared, with some details left to be finalized, he said.
The planned visa waiver follows a sharp acceleration in relations between North Korea and Belarus, both of which have strengthened their alignment with Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In March, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made his first official visit to Pyongyang, where he held a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and signed a treaty on friendship and cooperation.
The two leaders also agreed to expand cooperation in areas including diplomacy, agriculture, public health and education. Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said during the visit that relations between Minsk and Pyongyang had entered a “new stage.”
The two countries have taken further steps to institutionalize their relationship. In April, Belarusian Prime Minister Alexander Turchin signed a government resolution on opening a Belarusian Embassy in North Korea, according to the latest reports.
North Korea’s expanding relationship with Belarus comes as Pyongyang has moved dramatically closer to Moscow.
North Korea has sent troops and military supplies to support Russia’s war against Ukraine, while Russia and North Korea have strengthened military and political cooperation under a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed in 2024.
Belarus, meanwhile, has been one of Moscow’s closest partners, allowing Russian forces to use its territory during the invasion of Ukraine and hosting Russian tactical nuclear weapons.
The growing Pyongyang-Minsk relationship therefore adds another layer to what is emerging as a three-way alignment among North Korea, Russia and Belarus, with cooperation extending beyond political support to diplomacy, security and increasingly practical exchanges between the countries.
