Seoul, June 4 (IANS) Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu arrived in Pyongyang to hold a meeting with leader Kim Jong-un, a Russian news report said Wednesday.
Shoigu travelled to the North on instructions from President Vladimir Putin and is scheduled to meet with Kim, the Russian news agency Tass reported.
The visit came amid speculation that Kim may visit Russia for a summit with Putin to mark the first anniversary of their signing of a mutual Defence treaty in June last year, which led to North Korea’s deployment of thousands of troops on the Russian side in the war against Ukraine.
Citing Russia’s Security Council, Tass said that Kim and Shoigu are expected to discuss the implementation of the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty and the commemoration of North Korean forces who fought in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The agenda may also include international issues, such as those involving Ukraine, it said.
Shoigu’s visit came less than three months after he travelled to North Korea to meet the North’s leader to discuss cooperation between the two nations.
His trip also came just a week after North Korea’s State Security Minister Ri Chang-dae held a meeting with him in Moscow on the occasion of an international meeting of high-level security officials, Yonhap news agency reported.
During that meeting, Ri and Shoigu reportedly discussed issues related to North Korea’s deployment of troops to support Russia in the war against Ukraine.
Amid stringent international sanctions, North Korea has turned to Russia for resources and cooperation and is believed to have received rare Defence technologies to advance its nuclear and missile arsenals in exchange for troop deployment and arms supplies.
Earlier on June 2, North Korea denounced a monitoring group on the enforcement of UN sanctions against Pyongyang for issuing a report on military cooperation between the North and Russia, calling the move a violation of a state’s sovereign rights.
The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) on Thursday issued the first report detailing illegal military cooperation carried out between North Korea and Russia in violation of UN Security Council resolutions against Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes.
The chief of the external policy office at North Korea’s foreign ministry said the MSMT committed a “political provocation” by fabricating a report taking issue with cooperative ties between the North and Russia, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
–IANS
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