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 a 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.