Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belausov is making an official visit to North Korea today Friday (29/11) , as reported by Russian news agencies, citing an announcement by the armed forces.
During this "official visit" to Pyongyang, a traditional ally of Moscow - the relationship was recently upgraded with the signing of a joint defense agreement -, Mr. Belausov will meet with "military and military-political officials" of North Korea , according to the statement, which did not go into further details.
Belousov, a former economist, replaced Sergei Shoigu as defense minister in May after the start of Russian President Vladimir Putin's fifth term.
The Russian minister was received at Pyongyang airport by his North Korean counterpart No Kwang Chol, the statement added.
The bilateral defense agreement was signed in June and ratified more recently.
Both countries are subject to international sanctions – Pyongyang for developing a nuclear arsenal, Moscow for its war against Ukraine.
South Korea and the US accuse North Korea of sending thousands of soldiers to Russia to fight what they say are Ukrainian forces alongside the Russian army. South Korean government officials and a research agency said last week that in return, Moscow supplies Pyongyang with fuel, air defense systems and financial aid.
The visit came days after South Korean President Yun Suk-yeol met with a Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, the AP reported, and called on the two countries to formulate unspecified countermeasures in response to the deployment of thousands of troops by the North Korea to Russia to support war against Ukraine.
The United States and its allies have said that North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia in recent weeks and that some of them have already begun to take part in combat.
North Korea has also been accused of supplying Russia with artillery systems, missiles and other military equipment, which may help Russian President Vladimir Putin further prolong the nearly three-year-old war.
There are also concerns in Seoul that North Korea, in exchange for sending troops and supplying weapons, could receive from Russia technology that could bolster the threat of its leader Kim Jong Un's nuclear and missile programs.
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