Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov said North Korea has affirmed its “clear support” for Russia’s war in Ukraine and Kremlin leadership as he started a three-day visit to Pyongyang.

The two heavily-sanctioned nations are in constant contact, and more meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un are likely in the future, state-run Tass News Service cited Lavrov as saying after talks with his North Korean counterpart Choe Son-hui.

Lavrov referenced the participation of North Korean troops in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kremlin forces have mostly reversed last year’s surprise incursion by Ukraine, calling it evidence of an “invincible brotherhood” between the nations.

Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry, handout, AFP

Russian authorities would facilitate an increase in tourist flows to North Korea from Russia, Lavrov said.

North Korea opened the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area last month.

Lavrov also said that Belarus, with Russia’s backing, has invited North Korea to take part in the third conference on Eurasian security architecture, expected to be held in Minsk in October.

This weekend’s visit comes less than a month after Pyongyang agreed to send an additional 6,000 military workers to the Kursk region at a meeting last month between Kim and Russian Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Shoigu.

The two countries have been deepening ties after signing a military treaty last year to expand their strategic partnership amid mounting international sanctions. Russia and North Korea also intend to relaunch maritime transport between the two countries.

Western governments have accused the Kremlin of bartering military technology for arms and labor resources amid Putin’s war on Ukraine, now well into its fourth year.

The deployment of North Korean troops to Russia has also helped Pyongyang’s military gain modern, real-world combat experience.

North Korea is now supplying as much as 40 percent of Russia’s ammunition for the war and “those are good weapons,” said Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukrainian military intelligence.

“North Korea has huge stockpiles and production goes on around the clock,” he said.