Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko began his first visit to North Korea on March 25, strengthening ties between two of Vladimir Putin’s closest allies. Lukashenko was welcomed with a red-carpet ceremony in Pyongyang, greeted by North Korea’s foreign minister and children waving Belarusian and North Korean flags, before meeting leader Kim Jong Un.
Photographs released by Minsk showed the two men embracing. Lukashenko also visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the preserved bodies of Kim’s grandfather Kim Il Sung and father Kim Jong Il are displayed.
North Korea has supplied Russia with millions of rounds of ammunition for its war in Ukraine and sent troops to help repel Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region in 2024. Belarus, meanwhile, allowed its territory to be used as a launchpad for Russia’s 2022 invasion and agreed to host Russian tactical nuclear weapons.
Both countries remain under international sanctions—North Korea for its nuclear program and Belarus for human rights abuses and support for Moscow. Yet both have engaged at times with U.S. President Donald Trump. Kim met Trump three times in 2018–2019, while Lukashenko recently re-established direct contact with Washington, securing eased sanctions in exchange for prisoner releases.
Lukashenko’s trip comes just days after meeting Trump’s envoy John Coale and announcing the release of 250 detainees. U.S. officials have suggested Lukashenko may soon visit the White House.
