North Korea Announces Russian Foreign Minister's Planned Visit... Will 'Arms Deal' Accelerate?

North Korea "Russian Foreign Minister to Officially Visit Pyongyang on the 18th"
Signs of 'North Korea-Russia Arms Deals' Continue, Concerns Over Acceleration
Russian Foreign Minister Expected to Discuss Putin's Return Visit During North Korea Trip

North Korea has officially announced the visit schedule of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which was expected as a follow-up measure to the North Korea-Russia summit. Amid expectations that Russian President Vladimir Putin's return visit will be considered, concerns are rising that discussions on 'arms deals' will also accelerate.

On the afternoon of the 16th, the Korean Central News Agency stated, "By the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Comrade Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, will officially visit our country (North Korea) from the 18th to the 19th." Earlier, after Chairman Kim Jong Un and President Putin held a summit at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on the 13th of last month for the first time in four years, it was expected that high-level exchanges between North Korea and Russia would continue as a result.

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister [Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister Lavrov is expected to hold talks with Choe Son Hui, North Korea's Foreign Minister and his 'diplomatic counterpart,' during which they are likely to discuss whether President Putin will make a return visit to Pyongyang. The Korean Central News Agency reported that on the day after the North Korea-Russia summit, on the 14th of last month, Chairman Kim invited President Putin, and the Russian side "readily accepted" the invitation. Minister Lavrov also demonstrated the close ties between North Korea and Russia by directly expressing his intention to visit Pyongyang in October as a follow-up to the North Korea-Russia summit during a press conference at the United Nations General Assembly, where major Western countries gathered, on the 23rd of last month. However, the Russian Kremlin drew a line earlier this month, stating that President Putin has no plans to visit North Korea.

With the visit of Foreign Minister Lavrov, the head of Russian diplomacy, if additional cooperation measures between North Korea and Russia are discussed, there is also speculation that the close ties between the two countries could reach their peak with President Putin's return visit to Pyongyang. Trends indicating that North Korea and Russia have already begun military cooperation have been steadily detected, and recently, the United States even released satellite images showing signs of arms transactions. John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House National Security Council (NSC), stated on the 13th (local time), "We have obtained information that North Korea has delivered weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine," adding, "In recent weeks, North Korea has provided Russia with over 1,000 containers worth of military equipment and ammunition."

A military official confirmed on the same day that the maritime transport of North Korea-Russia containers is factual and said, "Considering the container load, it corresponds to a massive quantity of tens of thousands of shells, which are the most needed ammunition for Russia."

Regarding this, a government official expressed concern in a phone interview with Asia Economy, saying, "If it is true that the 1,000 containers sent by North Korea to Russia contain military equipment, it is an amount that could overturn the course of the war in Ukraine."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.