Kim Jong-un "Building a Century-long Plan"... Will Putin Visit Amid 'North Korea-Russia Closeness'?

Kim Jong-un Emphasizes Solidarity in Meeting with Visiting Russian Foreign Minister
Showcases Close Ties with Russia Amidst US-Japan-South Korea and North Korea-China-Russia Dynamics
Focus on Follow-up Arms Deals... Attention on Possible Russian Technology Transfer

Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, met with Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, who visited Pyongyang, emphasizing the 'century-long plan' for building North Korea-Russia relations. This is interpreted as a determination to obtain what North Korea desires, such as military technology, through close ties with Russia amid intensifying regional conflict dynamics.

According to the Korean Central News Agency on the 20th, Chairman Kim met with Foreign Minister Lavrov at the headquarters of the Party Central Committee the previous day and stated, "We must faithfully implement the agreements reached at the North Korea-Russia summit and establish a stable and future-oriented new era of North Korea-Russia relations with a century-long plan," adding, "Let us vigorously promote the great national construction cause by enhancing the welfare of the peoples of both countries with its power."

North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un is meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who visited North Korea, at the Party Central Committee headquarters building on the 19th.

Lavrov's visit to North Korea followed the summit between Chairman Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 13th of last month, which was the first in four years. Since it is believed that comprehensive cooperation was agreed upon in all fields, including 'arms trade,' Chairman Kim's mention of a 'century-long plan' is interpreted as expressing his intention to strengthen North Korea-Russia relations from a more long-term perspective.

North Korea explained the meeting that day as having "reached an agreement (omitted) on expanding bilateral connections in all areas through joint efforts." Regarding the talks between Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Foreign Minister Lavrov, it was evaluated that "practical methods to actively promote cooperative projects in various fields were discussed," and "there was agreement on strengthening joint actions on issues related to the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asian situation." North Korea's repeated mention of 'joint' appears to indicate its intention to further strengthen close ties with Russia amid the solidifying regional conflict structure.

As the two countries accelerate their close ties, the most sensitive transaction is 'advanced technology.' While arms trade is already considered to have begun based on satellite images presented by the U.S. State Department and others, North Korea wants to receive military technology from Russia that can be used for reconnaissance satellites and other purposes. North Korea has declared that it will launch additional reconnaissance satellites this month after two failures earlier this year, and even if the launch succeeds, the technology level, such as resolution, is poor, making technology transfer urgent. Some also mention the possibility of exchanges regarding submarine construction technology.

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, who visited Pyongyang, is holding talks with Choe Son-hui, North Korean Foreign Minister, and signing an exchange plan.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, analyzed, "The purpose of the Russian Foreign Minister's visit to North Korea is to prepare for President Putin's visit to Pyongyang," adding, "Both North Korea and Russia are under sanctions from the international community, and their strategy is to demonstrate anti-Western solidarity through unity." He further evaluated, "Especially, the new development in bilateral relations is that cooperation has expanded to military and security fields, including arms trade."

Meanwhile, taking advantage of Lavrov's visit, a '2024-2025 exchange plan' was signed between North Korea and Russia. This is the first time since 2019 that the exchange plan between the foreign ministries of North Korea and Russia has been publicly reported by North Korean state media, suggesting that exchanges between the two countries will expand further. Separately, the 10th North Korea-Russia Economic Joint Committee (Trade, Economy, and Science and Technology Cooperation Committee) is also scheduled to be held in Pyongyang next month.

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