Choe Son Hui with Lavrov.Image: keystone
North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui met both her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin for talks in Moscow.
July 21, 2026, 3:40 a.mJuly 21, 2026, 3:40 a.m
At the so-called “third strategic dialogue,” both sides decided to further expand and accelerate their bilateral cooperation, North Korea’s state news agency KCNA reported. The meeting of foreign ministers took place on Monday.
In a joint statement, both governments also pledged extensive security policy support. Russia expressed its “full support” to North Korea in its efforts to defend its sovereignty against “hostile” threats. North Korea, in turn, declared its “unwavering support for all domestic and foreign policy measures” by Russia aimed at “eliminate the root cause of the Ukraine conflict.”
Thousands of North Koreans died in the Ukraine war
Since the start of the Ukraine War, North Korea has entered into unprecedented military cooperation with Russia. In addition to widespread deliveries of ammunition and artillery shells, South Korean intelligence estimates that North Korea has sent up to 15,000 soldiers to support Russia in the Ukraine war.
During her visit, North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe also laid a wreath at the so-called Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Alexander Garden on the outer wall of the Kremlin. The North Korean delegation held a minute’s silence to commemorate those who fell in the “holy war to destroy fascism,” as KCNA described the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. According to South Korean intelligence estimates, a total of at least 2,000 North Korean soldiers were killed during fighting in the Ukraine war. (sda/dpa)