Seoul: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday during his visit to North Korea, Moscow’s foreign ministry said.
In a Telegram post, the ministry released a photo of Kim smiling while holding Lavrov’s hand with both hands. In a separate post of a video that shows Kim greeting Lavrov with a hug, the ministry said Lavrov was “received” by the North Korean leader.
The ministry indicated that their meeting took place in the coastal resort city of Wonsan.
Lavrov’s trip to the North will last until Sunday, when he is set to fly to China to attend a foreign ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states, Yonhap news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, North Korea and Russia reaffirmed their strong ties during a meeting of their top diplomats in a coastal North Korean resort city, Russian news agencies reported.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui met her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Wonsan for the second round of strategic talks between the two countries, a day after Lavrov arrived in the city, where a tourist zone opened earlier this month, according to TASS.
In opening remarks, Lavrov reaffirmed Choe’s earlier description of their bilateral ties as an “invincible military brotherhood,” citing North Korean troops who fought alongside Russian soldiers against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s western region of Kursk.
He also pledged to make efforts so that more Russian tourists will visit the resort city, such as increasing flights, TASS reported.
Choe reaffirmed her country’s support for Russia, describing their ties as rising to an “unbreakable” level.
“The strategic choice and will of the DPRK government is to defend, unconditionally and consistently, support Russia’s policy of protecting state sovereignty and territorial integrity,” TASS quoted her as saying.
DPRK stands for North Korea’s official name — the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
His trip comes as Moscow and Pyongyang have been reinforcing their broad-based cooperation since Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership” treaty during a summit in Pyongyang in June last year.
Lavrov last visited North Korea in June 2024, when he accompanied President Vladimir Putin for a summit with Kim in Pyongyang. During that meeting, they signed a strategic partnership agreement committing both countries to mutual support in the event of aggression.
(IANS)
