North Korea and Belarus are close to finalising a visa-waiver agreement for ordinary citizens, according to Belarus's state news agency BelTA. Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov said only "some technical details" remain to be resolved before the deal is signed, following discussions with his North Korean counterpart Choe Son-hui. The agreement is seen as a further step in the deepening relationship between the two countries, which was cemented at a March summit in Pyongyang between President Alexander Lukashenko and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un — part of a broader realignment of North Korea with Russia and its close allies since Pyongyang signed a mutual-defence treaty with Moscow in June 2024.