CNN
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Saturday in a sign of deepening relations between Moscow and Pyongyang as the latter gets pulled deeper into Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Russia’s foreign ministry posted a photo of the two leaders on Telegram Saturday in the North Korean city of Wonsan on the country’s eastern coast. Lavrov arrived in North Korea on Friday for the start of a three-day visit.
Lavrov also met with his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui in Wonson Saturday, Russia’s foreign ministry said on Telegram.
“We exchanged views on the situation surrounding the Ukrainian crisis,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russian state media agency TASS at a press conference following that meeting. “Our Korean friends confirmed their firm support for all the objectives of the special military operation, as well as for the actions of the Russian leadership and armed forces.”
On Wednesday, Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry, said Lavrov would visit North Korea for talks that were part of “the second round of strategic dialogue” between the countries’ top diplomats, according to TASS.
North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA, also reported Wednesday that Lavrov would be visiting “at the invitation of” Pyongyang’s foreign ministry.
Lavrov’s trip comes at a crucial time for Russian-North Korean relations, with Pyongyang set to deploy an additional 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers to assist Moscow’s scaled-up assault on Ukraine, according to Ukrainian intelligence – adding to the estimated 11,000 soldiers Pyongyang sent last year.
It also comes as the US has grown increasingly frustrated with Russia. US President Donald Trump has accused his counterpart Vladimir Putin of throwing “bullsh*t” at peace talks, and pledged more support for Ukraine.
The trip could further strengthen an alliance that has the potential to reshape not only the war in Ukraine but the security dynamic in Asia.
Choe Son Hui visited Moscow for the first round of strategic talks in November 2024, according to TASS. At the time, Lavrov praised what he called “very close contacts” with the North Korean military and intelligence services.
Despite sustaining heavy battlefield losses, North Korea has become increasingly integrated into Russia’s war. An estimated 4,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in Russia, according to Western officials.
On the ground in the Russian border region of Kursk, where North Korean soldiers helped repel Ukraine’s incursion last year, the reclusive state’s soldiers are reportedly living in dugouts, fighting – and dying – alongside Russian troops.
Satellite images obtained by CNN showed cargo planes and troop transport ships moving between North Korea and Russia, hinting at major military logistics underway.
Facing shortages on the front line, even as its own factories work round-the-clock, Russia has become reliant on North Korea for additional weaponry.
Training manuals for North Korean artillery have been translated into Russian, in a sign of both the ubiquity of the weapons and the increasing interoperability between Moscow’s and Pyongyang’s armed forces. A report from 11 UN member states last month said that Pyongyang sent at least 100 ballistic missiles and 9 million artillery shells to Russia in 2024.
Russia has intensified its aerial assault on Ukraine in recent weeks, launching a record 728 drones and 13 missiles Wednesday. On Thursday, Russian drones attacked the capital Kyiv from all directions in an apparent new tactic that tested Ukraine’s strained defenses.
