North Korea, Belarus sign 'friendship and cooperation' treaty

North Korea and Belarus's leaders signed a "friendship and cooperation" treaty on Thursday, state media reported, after Kim Jong Un "warmly" welcomed President Alexander Lukashenko to Pyongyang for a maiden visit.

"The friendly relations between our states, born during the era of the Soviet Union, have never been interrupted. Today, thanks to comprehensive and steady development, we are entering a fundamentally new phase," Belarusian state news agency BelTA quoted Lukashenko as saying.