Pyongyang: North Korea's state security minister has left for Russia to attend an international meeting of officials in charge of security affairs, the North's state media reported Tuesday, amid deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
According to Yonhap News Agency, a delegation led by Minister Ri Chang-dae departed Pyongyang the previous day to attend the 13th meeting of high representatives handling security issues, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Ri is expected to have talks with Russia's Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Moscow.
Russia's Security Council stated last week that Shoigu will hold talks with officials from North Korea, Iran, India, and other countries on May 28-29 on the sidelines of the meeting of high representatives responsible for security issues. The meeting between Ri and Shoigu comes as North Korea acknowledged for the first time in April that it has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support Moscow's war against Ukraine.
Experts suggest that the upcoming talks may be used to discuss North Korean troops' future moves and issues related to the repatriation of the remains of the North's soldiers killed during combat and prisoners of war.
In a separate dispatch, the KCNA reported that a Russian government delegation, led by Russia's deputy interior minister, arrived in Pyongyang the previous day. The delegation was greeted by North Korea's vice public security minister and Russia's top envoy to Pyongyang at the international airport, the report said, without disclosing other details.