North Korea's Choe Son-hui Visits Russia Starting Today... Keen Anticipation for Kim Jong-un and Putin Summit

Choe Son-hui, North Korean Foreign Minister
[Photo by Yonhap News]

원본보기 아이콘

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui will visit Russia from the 15th for a 2-night, 3-day trip. This visit is a reciprocal visit following Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to North Korea last year, but it is interpreted as part of strengthening North Korea-Russia solidarity. During the talks between the two countries, there is a possibility of coordinating a summit meeting schedule between North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as discussing arms deals.

Although North Korea and Russia deny it, the international community, including the United States, believes that the two countries continue military cooperation, including arms transactions. On the 11th (local time), the U.S. sanctioned three Russian companies and one individual involved in Russia's attacks on Ukraine using North Korean ballistic missiles. If the summit schedule is coordinated, there is a high possibility that the meeting will be held in Pyongyang this time, as President Putin accepted Chairman Kim's invitation during his visit to Russia in September last year. If it takes place, the timing is likely to be after the Russian presidential election in March.

As North Korea-Russia cooperation solidifies, South Korea, the U.S., and Japan are closely monitoring the situation. Kim Gun, head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters, held a trilateral phone call late yesterday afternoon with Jeffrey Park, U.S. State Department Deputy Special Representative for North Korea, and Namazu Hiroyuki, Japan's Chief Nuclear Negotiator on North Korea, to discuss the recent North Korea-Russia meeting. The three countries condemned North Korea's transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia and agreed to respond jointly.

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.