Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov has arrived in North Korea, Russia’s Defence Ministry notified on Sunday.
Earlier, North Korean state media (KCNA) reported that Russia’s State Duma Chairman, Vyacheslav Volodin, also arrived in Pyongyang and would attend the opening ceremony of a newly built memorial for North Korean troops who died fighting in the Ukraine war.
Belousov is due to hold talks with North Korea’s top leadership and senior military officials and will take part in ‘ceremonial and commemorative events’, the Russian Defence Ministry said.
Separately, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a telegram to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to mark the opening of the memorial, the Kremlin said.
Putin thanked Kim along with North Korean soldiers for helping Russia repel a major Ukrainian incursion into its western Kursk region and mentioned in such a telegram that he was confident the two countries would continue to strengthen their strategic partnership.
The two states' supreme leaders met in June 2024 and signed a comprehensive strategic treaty that included a mutual defence pact.
The two countries have rapidly developed diplomatic and military ties since 2023.
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