Vietnamese President To Lam, center left, and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, center right, review the guard of honor at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, on June 20, 2024. (AP)

Vladimir Putin arrived in Vietnam to meet with its leaders on the final stop of his two-nation Asian tour, following the signing of a defense pact with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's leader Kim Jong Un.

The Russian president's plane landed at Hanoi airport, where he was greeted on a red carpet by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha and top party diplomat Le Hoai Trung. The visit has drawn criticism from the US, one of Vietnam's top trade partners, which warned that it risks normalizing Russia's "blatant violations of international law."

According to Russian news agency TASS, Putin is set to discuss collaboration in "trade and economic, scientific, technological, and humanitarian areas" and exchange views on key international and regional issues.

In an opinion piece published in Vietnam’s Communist Party newspaper Nhan Dan to coincide with his visit, Putin highlighted progress in payments, energy, and trade between the countries. He also praised Vietnam for supporting “a pragmatic way to solve the crisis” in Ukraine.

Vietnam’s leadership adheres to "bamboo diplomacy," which remains flexible and avoids taking sides in international disputes, including those concerning Ukraine and tensions between the US and China.

That said, Vietnam has bolstered its relations with the US and its allies. Last year, Communist Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong hosted US President Joe Biden and advanced ties with Washington, as well as with Australia and Japan.

Russian and the DPRK sign a joint agreement

Earlier on Thursday, Russia and the DPRK's Comprehensive Strategic Partnership provided for mutual military assistance in case of armed aggression against either of the allies, the document cited by the Korean state news agency KCNA indicated.

"In the event that one of the parties comes under an armed attack by any state or several states and thus finds itself in a state of war, the other party will immediately provide military and other assistance by all means at its disposal under Article 51 of the UN Charter and in accordance with the laws of North Korea and Russia," Article 4 of the treaty read.

The third article of the indefinite treaty, which was signed on Wednesday by Putin and Kim Jong Un, states that in the event of an "immediate threat" of armed aggression, the allies would immediately activate bilateral communication channels to coordinate positions and agree on "practical measures" required to deal with the threat.

The fifth article stipulates that each party "undertakes not to enter into agreements with third states directed against the sovereignty, security, territorial inviolability, right to free choice and development of political, social, economic and cultural systems and other key interests of the other party, as well as not to participate in such activities."