North Korean leader Kim Jong-un welcomed Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko on his maiden visit, signing a 'friendship and cooperation' treaty. The two nations face Western sanctions and accusations of human rights violations.

North Korea and Belarus’ strongmen leaders signed a “friendship and cooperation” treaty on Thursday after Kim Jong-un gave a lavish welcome to President Alexander Lukashenko on his maiden visit. Besides supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine - around 2,000 North Korean soldiers are thought to have died - both nations are under Western sanctions and are accused of gross human rights violations. The two men met last year in China. “In the modern realities of global transformation - at a time when...