North Korean foreign minister arrives in Russia

Russian state media on Tuesday reported that North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Sun-hui arrived in the eastern city of Vladivostok.

In this photo released on Tuesday by the Korean Workers' Party's official Rodong Sinmun, North Korean foreign minister Choe Son-hui, center, shakes hands with Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora at Pyongyang International Airport on Monday. [NEWS1]

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui arrived in the eastern port city of Vladivostok on Tuesday, according to Russian state media, amid mounting evidence that North Korean troops are readying to join the war against Ukraine.

Pyongyang’s state media reported earlier on Tuesday that Choe had departed for Russia on an official visit the previous day.

According to the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency, Choe was seen off at Pyongyang International Airport by North Korea’s vice foreign minister, Kim Jong-gyu, and Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora.

The Russian Embassy in Pyongyang said on its Facebook account that her visit is part of “strategic dialogue” established by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Russian state media reported that Choe is scheduled to arrive in Moscow on Wednesday, but did not provide details on who she is due to meet.

Observers believe Choe’s visit to Russia could lay the groundwork for a visit to Moscow by Kim, which was mooted during his previous meeting with Putin in June.

Monday’s trip marks Choe’s third known visit to Russia this year and comes six weeks after her previous visit.

Choe’s reported departure came the same day that Mark Rutte, secretary general of NATO, confirmed that North Korean troops are present in the Kursk region in western Russia, which Ukrainian troops have entered in an apparent bid to divert Russian forces away from areas they have occupied inside Ukraine.

An official from South Korea’s Unification Ministry told reporters on condition of anonymity that Seoul “anticipates possible coordination on specific responses [by NATO and South Korea] to the North Korean troop deployment to Russia,” but noted that Pyongyang “has not provided details on the agenda” of Choe’s visit.

Hyun Seung-soo, deputy director of the Korea Institute for National Reunification, said he expects Pyongyang and Moscow will “discuss their joint response strategy for the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election, as well as plan the timeline for Kim’s visit to Russia,” which he said could happen next year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a press conference at the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, on Thursday. [AP/YONHAP]

North Korea and Russia began bolstering military and technological cooperation in September of last year, when Kim and Putin held a summit in the Russian Far East.

During Putin’s subsequent state visit to Pyongyang for a summit with Kim in June, the pair signed what the two countries called a “comprehensive strategic treaty” that included a mutual defense clause.

In his remarks at a press conference held on the sidelines of the BRICS summit last week in Kazan, western Russia, Putin did not deny evidence from the United States that the North had sent troops to Russia, but also accused NATO of escalating the war in Ukraine first by sending officers and instructors to train Ukrainian forces.

The Russian president also argued that what Pyongyang and Moscow “do within the framework” of their treaty is “our business.”

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]