Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part interview with former Russian senior diplomat Georgy Toloraya on the implications of the new treaty signed by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang.

Russia and North Korea’s new treaty setting forth mutual defense commitments has made Korean reunification an impossible dream, according to a veteran Russian diplomat.

Georgy Toloraya, a former Russian senior diplomat with extensive experience in the two Koreas, told NK News that the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnershipsigned by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang last week dealt a serious blow to decades