North Korea's foreign minister to visit Russia: KCNA

In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via their telegram channel, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui shake hands during their meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, Oct. 19, 2023. AP-Yonhap

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui will visit Russia this week, state media said Sunday, amid indications of growing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.

"Choe Son-hui, minister of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, will pay an official visit to the Russian Federation from Jan. 15 to 17 at the invitation of its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said in a one-line dispatch.

The visit will come as North Korea and Russia have been accused of exchanging weapons and military technology in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions since a September summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Russian spaceport.

Last week, the White House said Russia recently fired additional North Korean ballistic missiles into Ukraine following earlier such launches on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2.

Both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied any such arms transfers.

Choe is expected to meet with Lavrov during her visit to Russia, which will come three months after they last met in Pyongyang in October. (Yonhap)