SEOUL, October 26 (AJP) - North Korean Foreign Minister will visit Russia from Sunday and then is scheduled to travel to Belarus coinciding with U.S. President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to South Korea, raising questions over the possibility of a U.S.–North Korea summit.
The visit marks Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui’s first trip to Russia in a year, following her November 2024 meeting in Moscow with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin.
North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sunday reported that Choe will visit both Russia and Belarus at the invitation of their foreign ministries, without disclosing specific dates or discussion topics.
If her trip extends to Belarus, it could overlap with Trump’s two-day visit to Seoul from Wednesday.
Trump said he would "like to meet with Kim" during his visit to Asia. However, it is speculated that such a meeting is unlikely while Choe — a key figure in Pyongyang’s negotiations with Washington — is abroad.
Choe has played a central role in past U.S.–North Korea summits, including the 2018 Singapore and 2019 Hanoi meetings, as well as the inter-Korean border encounter at Panmunjom, making her absence a significant obstacle to any potential talks.
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