2023-10-19 07:08:02
The foreign ministers of Russia and North Korea met Thursday in Pyongyang for talks expected to focus on strengthening their military ties, days following the United States accused North Korea of sending munitions to Russia to support its war in Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov traveled to Pyongyang on Wednesday for a two-day trip. During a speech that day, Lavrov thanked North Korea for its strong support for Russia’s campaign in Ukraine.
International interest in the visit revolved around whether the two countries would offer clues regarding how they will finalize their security cooperation or whether they would announce the date for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s promised trip to Pyongyang to parallel the North Korean leader’s visit. Kim Jong Un, to the Russian Far East last month.
During his trip to Russia, Kim met with Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, the most important space launch center in Russia, and inspected other Russian weapons manufacturing centers. That fueled speculation that Kim is seeking sophisticated Russian technology to modernize his nuclear arsenal in exchange for conventional weapons to replenish Russia’s depleted arsenal.
“Following the historic summit between President Putin and State Affairs Chairman Kim Jong Un at the Vostochny Cosmodrome on September 13, we can say with confidence that relations have reached a new qualitative strategic level,” Lavrov told the start of his meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Sun Hui, according to the Russian state agency Interfax.
Neither country initially released details of the meeting, although Lavrov said Wednesday that his visit was intended to finalize the implementation of unspecified agreements between Putin and Kim reached during their September summit.
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