![\"[CAPTIONS]
Chinese](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rcv.YNA.20260718.PYH2026071800780004200_P1.jpg\"\/ "\\"North")
[CAPTIONS]
\nChinese party and government delegation members, including Wang Huning (front row, second from left), chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, who are visiting North Korea to mark the 65th anniversary of the North Korea-China friendship treaty, tour the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone on the 17th with Jo Yong-won (front row, third from left), secretary of the Central Committee of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, and others. KCNA\u00b7Yonhap News<\/p>\n
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui’s visit to Russia has prompted speculation that it may be groundwork for a visit to Russia by State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un.<\/p>\n
The Korean Central News Agency reported on the 19th that Choe visited Russia on the 18th at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russia’s Foreign Ministry also said Choe arrived in Russia on an “official visit.” However, neither side disclosed Choe’s specific schedule or the purpose of the visit. It marks Choe’s first visit to Russia in about nine months.<\/p>\n
Because the visit took place without any particular anniversary or diplomatic event, analysts suggest it is aimed at preparing for Kim’s visit to Russia. Yang Moo-jin, a chair professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said, “It appears they discussed matters such as solidifying North Korea-Russia relations through Kim’s visit to Russia within the year.” Russian President Vladimir Putin requested a return visit from Kim during the Pyongyang summit in June 2024.<\/p>\n
Yang also said, “Choe’s visit to Russia may also be intended to explain to Russia the recent trends in North Korea-China relations, including the recent North Korea-China summit.” He added, “It would be aimed at Russia maintaining its influence over the Korean Peninsula, while North Korea signals that its relations with China do not undermine its relations with Russia.”<\/p>\n
High-level exchanges between North Korea and China are also becoming more active around the 65th anniversary of the North Korea-China friendship treaty. Following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pyongyang last month, Wang Huning, chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the fourth-ranking figure in China, visited North Korea from the 15th to the 17th of this month, met with Kim, and toured the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone. Observers say this could soon lead to Chinese group tourism gaining full momentum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[CAPTIONS] Chinese party and government delegation members, including Wang Huning (front row, second from left), chairman of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":91063,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[11570,141,31,34,7660,16534,47883,47884,1797,46326],"class_list":["post-91062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-north-korea","tag-choe-son-hui","tag-kim-jong-un","tag-korea","tag-north-korea","tag-north-korea-russia-relations","tag-north-korea-china-relations","tag-russia-visit","tag-sergei-lavrov","tag-vladimir-putin","tag-wang-huning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}