Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Read more
Belarus‘ President Alexander Lukashenko and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held talks in North Korea’s capital on Thursday and signed a friendship and cooperation treaty.
Lukashenko, who was in Pyongyang on a two-day official visit, hailed the document as “fundamental,” and said that relations between the two countries are “entering a new stage,” according to his press service.
“Yes, we didn’t have close cooperation, largely due to our own fault. But I am sincerely pleased to note that cooperation has now significantly intensified,” Lukashenko said.
“In today’s reality of a global transformation, when the global powers openly ignore and violate international law, independent countries need to cooperate more closely, consolidate efforts aimed at protecting their sovereignty and improving the well-being of our citizens,” he said.
Lukashenko’s press service quoted Kim expressing “solidarity and full support” for Belarus and speaking out “against unlawful pressure on Belarus from the West.”
Belarus is a close ally of Russia. Lukashenko allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory as a staging ground for the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and later authorized the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Kim has also tilted his foreign policy toward Moscow in recent years, sending thousands of troops and large quantities of weapons to support Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine while portraying the North as part of a united front against Washington.
Lukashenko and Kim last met in September 2025 in Beijing.