Putin in Hanoi after inking N. Korea defense pact

Russian President Vladimir Putin begins a state visit to Vietnam on Thursday, a day after signing a mutual defense pact with North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

Putin and Kim inked a strategic treaty at a summit in Pyongyang that included a pledge to come to each other's aid if attacked. Kim also pledged his "full support" for Russia's war on Ukraine.

Washington and its allies accuse North Korea of supplying ammunition and missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, and the deal fuelled fears of more deliveries.

The U.S. State Department said deepening Russia-North Korea ties were "of great concern" while a top Ukrainian official accused Pyongyang of abetting Moscow's "mass murder of Ukrainians".

Making his first visit to the isolated North in 24 years on Wednesday, Putin said he did not rule out "military-technical cooperation" with Pyongyang, which like Moscow is under heavy international sanctions.

"Today, we are fighting together against the hegemonism and neo-colonial practices of the United States and its satellites," Putin said.

The two countries have been allies since North Korea's founding after World War II and have drawn even closer since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 isolated Putin on the global stage.

Kim called Putin the "dearest friend of the Korean people" and vowed him his "full support and solidarity" over the war in Ukraine, which has triggered rafts of U.N. sanctions on Moscow.

Putin thanked his host — whose country has been under a U.N. sanctions regime since 2006 over his banned weapons programmes — saying Moscow appreciated the "consistent and unwavering" support.

Putin called for a review of U.N. sanctions on North Korea and said the two countries would not submit to Western ...