Putin met visiting North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui on Sunday, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov attending on the Russian side, according to a statement released by the Russian presidential office.
The Kremlin said Putin “highly praised” relations between Russia and North Korea and again thanked the North Korean leadership and people for assisting what Moscow calls its “special military operation,” its official term for the war in Ukraine.
“The combat feats of the Korean servicemen, who helped the Russian military and were decorated with state awards, will always be remembered in Russia,” the statement quoted Putin as saying.
Putin also asked Choe to convey his greetings and best wishes to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, emphasizing the personal relationship that has developed between the two leaders as military and political cooperation between their countries has deepened.
“I highly value the mutual understanding on all issues and the friendly relations between us,” Putin said, according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
Choe responded that Kim had recently reaffirmed North Korea’s strategic commitment to the comprehensive development of relations with Russia, according to the Kremlin.
The meeting has intensified speculation that Choe’s visit may be intended partly to prepare for a possible summit between Kim and Putin, particularly because it came without an announced multilateral conference, anniversary or other major diplomatic occasion.
Choe traveled to Russia at Lavrov’s invitation, departing Pyongyang aboard her official aircraft on Saturday with a government delegation, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
KCNA disclosed neither the purpose of the trip nor her detailed itinerary. Russia’s Foreign Ministry had announced earlier that Choe would arrive on July 18 for an official visit.
It is Choe’s first trip to Russia since October, when she visited Moscow before attending a Eurasian security forum in Belarus.
The timing has drawn attention to the possibility that she is conducting advance coordination for Kim’s long-awaited return visit to Russia. Putin invited Kim to Russia during their summit in Pyongyang in June 2024, when the two countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty containing a mutual defense commitment.
Since then, Moscow and Pyongyang have expanded cooperation across the diplomatic, economic and military spheres. North Korea has sent troops and supplied artillery shells, missiles and other weapons to support Russia’s war effort, according to South Korean, U.S. and Ukrainian authorities.
Pyongyang and Moscow have acknowledged the deployment of North Korean troops, portraying their participation as an expression of the countries’ strategic alliance. Putin’s remarks represented another public tribute to North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Russian forces.
North Korean leader Kim met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang last month, followed by a series of senior-level exchanges that included North Korean Premier Pak Thae-song’s visit to China and a subsequent trip to Pyongyang by Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
The warming relationship with Beijing may have strengthened Pyongyang’s diplomatic leverage by placing it in the position of being courted simultaneously by both China and Russia.
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