Vietnamese and North Korean defence officials meet in Hanoi to discuss bilateral cooperation. (People’s Army Newspaper)
On September 28, Vietnam and North Korea agreed to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, with their defence ministries discussing the implementation of commitments reached under a 2025 cooperation agreement.
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Phan Van Giang met Senior Lieutenant General Ryo Chol Ung, North Korea’s Vice Minister of National Defence, in Hanoi during Lieutenant General Ryo’s working visit to Vietnam.
Vietnamese Defence Minister General Giang welcomed the outcome of earlier talks between the two defence delegations and called for closer coordination to implement the agreed areas of cooperation. He also reaffirmed that North Korea shares a traditional friendship established by Vietnamese President Hồ Chí Minh and North Korean President Kim Il Sung and nurtured by successive generations of leaders and peoples of the two countries.
North Korean Senior Lieutenant General Ryo said his visit was aimed at putting into practice areas of cooperation outlined in the Letter of Intent on defence cooperation signed by the two countries’ defence ministries in 2025. He also expressed support for continued coordination between the two ministries.
The talks form part of renewed engagement between Hanoi and Pyongyang. Vietnamese Defence Minister General Giang also said Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defence would facilitate the implementation of bilateral activities and work to make defence cooperation a pillar of Vietnam-North Korea relations.
The North Korea’s Deputy Defence Minister expressed hope that both sides would continue close coordination and effectively implement their agreed defence activities, strengthening and further developing the traditional friendship between Vietnam and North Korea.
Vietnam and North Korea are moving beyond reaffirming their traditional friendship towards more structured defence cooperation. The focus on implementing the 2025 Letter of Intent indicates that both sides are seeking to turn existing political commitments into practical defence activities, while Hanoi’s pledge to facilitate cooperation could help give the relationship a more consistent institutional framework.
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