"Shoigu, Secretary of Russia's National Security Council, Arrives in North Korea... Meeting with Kim Jong-un Scheduled" (Comprehensive)

Russian Media, Including TASS, Report
Sergey Shoigu Visits North Korea for the First Time in Six Months

Sergey Shoigu, then Russian Minister of Defense, is presiding over a meeting of the Russian military command in Moscow on July 31, 2023 (local time). Russian media outlets, including TASS News Agency, reported on the 21st that Shoigu, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, arrived in Pyongyang, North Korea. / Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News Agency

Sergey Shoigu, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, visited North Korea, Russian media including TASS reported on the 21st.

According to the reports, Secretary Shoigu arrived in Pyongyang on the day and is scheduled to meet with Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, and senior North Korean officials during his visit. This marks Shoigu's first time setting foot in North Korea in about six months since September last year.

His visit has drawn attention as it comes amid accelerating close ties between North Korea and Russia, including the deployment of North Korean troops to the Ukraine war shortly after Shoigu's arrival.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang in June last year and signed the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty" with Kim Jong-un. This treaty was regarded as elevating the bilateral relationship to the level of a military alliance.

In fact, around the time of the treaty's ratification in November, North Korea sent approximately 11,000 troops to the Kursk front to support Russia's war efforts. Recently, analyses have suggested that with the assistance of North Korean forces, Russia has reclaimed a significant portion of Kursk territory.

As the two countries strengthen their military ties, there is speculation that Secretary Shoigu, who has returned to North Korea, and Chairman Kim may discuss plans for a visit to Moscow.

President Putin invited Chairman Kim to Moscow during their summit in Pyongyang in June last year. On the 17th of this month, Andrey Rudenko, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, visited North Korea and held talks with Choe Son-hui, North Korean Foreign Minister, and Kim Jong-gyu, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, discussing schedules for "high-level contacts."

Shoigu also visited North Korea in July 2023 when he was the Russian Minister of Defense and met with Kim Jong-un.

About two months after that meeting, in September 2023, Chairman Kim made a sudden visit to Russia's Far East region in Primorsky Krai. This visit attracted attention as Kim's first overseas trip since the COVID-19 pandemic. During the visit, Kim held a roughly four-hour meeting with President Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Oblast.