Russian FM meets with North Korean counterpart for strategic talks

As part of her visit to Russia, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Sun-hui is holding strategic discussions with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told a press briefing that Choe's visit is taking place "under  the agreement reached during the Russian-Korean summit in Pyongyang in June," Caliber.Az reports citing Russian media.

The talks aim to strengthen diplomatic ties and address key strategic interests between the two nations.

Choe’s visit, her second to Russia in six weeks, comes as the Russia-Ukraine war appears to have taken a dangerous new turn, with NATO and South Korea expressing alarm that North Korean troops could soon be entering the conflict to support Moscow.

The United States and NATO say some North Korean soldiers are in the Kursk region, a Russian border area where Ukrainian forces staged a major incursion in August and hold hundreds of square kilometres of territory. A couple of thousand more North Korean troops were heading there, the Pentagon said on October 29.

US President Joe Biden has described the North Korean deployment as “very dangerous” and said Ukraine should strike back against North Korean troops “if they cross into Ukraine”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not denied the presence of North Korean troops in Russia. Moscow says it has every right to develop its relations with Pyongyang as it sees fit, including under the terms of a mutual defence clause agreed earlier this year.

Asked if Choe’s visit was related to the Ukraine war, ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said it was part of a developing foreign policy dialogue between two neighbouring friendly countries.

By Vafa Guliyeva