07/12/2025July 12, 2025Russian foreign minister meets with Kim Jong Un in North Korea
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in North Korea to hold talks.
He met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the port city of Wonsan, where Lavrov described the two nations’ relations as “an invincible fighting brotherhood,” according to Russia’s Foreign Ministry.
The Russian minister said the visit with Kim represented the continuation of “strategic dialogue” inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea last year.
Lavrov, who thanked North Korea for sending troops to fight in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, also reportedly passed Kim a message from Putin expressing hope for more direct contacts in the future.
The minister, who traveled from this week’s ASEAN summit in Malaysia, is scheduled to remain in North Korea until Sunday.
Then Lavrov will travel to China, where he will attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) — an economic and security alliance consisting of Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — on Monday and Tuesday.
North Korea has grown to be one of Russia’s closest allies since the launch of the war in Ukraine.
Beyond seeking to assist one another with trade and tourism projects, the two increasingly sanctioned countries have mutual defense agreements and North Korea has sent more than 10,000 soldiers to fight in Ukraine.
South Korean intelligence has said Pyongyang may be preparing to send more in the coming weeks.