Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, is preparing to visit Russia within this year, according to reports by Russia's TASS news agency and others on the 27th (local time). As Russia shows close cooperation with North Korea, if Chairman Kim's visit to Russia is realized this year, it will mark the third consecutive year of North Korea-Russia summit meetings.
On the same day, Andrey Rudenko, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, stated at a conference "for a new agenda in Russia-India bilateral relations" that preparations are underway for Chairman Kim's visit to Russia. He did not specify the exact timing of the visit.
Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea (left), and Vladimir Putin, President of Russia. Photo by AP Yonhap News
Deputy Minister Rudenko said, "We always negotiate visits and exchanges with everyone. We are always ready," adding, "I was literally in North Korea two weeks ago and discussed this issue along with other matters."
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry revealed that Deputy Minister Rudenko visited North Korea on the 15th and met with Choe Son-hui, North Korea's Foreign Minister, among others, to discuss "high-level contacts" and other topics.
On the 21st, Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of the Russian Security Council and a close aide to President Putin, visited North Korea and met Chairman Kim to deliver a message from President Putin. Chairman Kim had previously invited Russian President Vladimir Putin, who visited North Korea in June last year, to visit Moscow.
Deputy Minister Rudenko also mentioned that preparations are underway for Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to Pyongyang this year, saying, "This is to continue strategic dialogue with our North Korean friends." He added, "This dialogue began when Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui visited Moscow in November last year," and "We must continue this tradition, and this year it is Lavrov's turn." He further stated, "This plan is significant. We will carry it out." However, the timing of the visit was not disclosed.
Chairman Kim has visited Russia twice before, in 2019 and 2023. However, both visits were to the Russian Far East region, and he has never visited Moscow, the Russian capital.
Accordingly, there are expectations that Chairman Kim will visit Moscow and attend the 80th anniversary Victory Day military parade on May 9. However, regarding this, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on the 24th, "We are not ready to make any statement."
Alexander Matsegora, Russian Ambassador to North Korea, drew a line on questions about Chairman Kim's visit to Russia for Victory Day in an interview with RIA Novosti on the same day, saying, "I have nothing to add to spokesman Peskov's response." Regarding the possibility of North Korean troops participating in the Victory Day parade, he said, "There may be things I do not know, but so far, preparations for North Korean troops to participate in the parade held at Red Square have not been made."
In November last year, Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov met Chairman Kim in North Korea and invited North Korean troops to the 80th anniversary Victory Day parade. Subsequently, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov expressed the expectation that North Korean troops would participate in the parade.
As North Korea and Russia show close cooperation, they held North Korea-Russia summit meetings in Russia's Far East in 2023 and in Pyongyang in 2024. At last year's summit, they signed the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty." If Chairman Kim visits Russia this time, it will be the third consecutive year of summit meetings.
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