Putin meets North Korean foreign minister at Kremlin

Putin meets the North Korean foreign minister. Screenshot: video from Kremlin

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has met with North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at the Kremlin amid reports of the deployment of North Korean soldiers to fight against Ukraine.

Source: Meduza, a Latvia-based Russian media outlet; RIA Novosti, a Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlet, citing the Kremlin press service

Details: Reportedly, North Korea’s foreign minister conveyed “warmest wishes” to Putin from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, to which Putin responded with “reciprocal wishes”. No further details were provided by the Kremlin.

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The North Korean minister arrived in Moscow for an official visit on 30 October.

During her meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Choe Son Hui stated that since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kim Jong Un had directed her to offer “constant and strong” support to the Russian army. She affirmed that North Korea would “stand firmly with its Russian comrades until victory is achieved” and said that Russia was waging a “holy” war against Ukraine.

Background:

• Earlier, the Pentagon confirmed that North Korean soldiers who arrived in Russia for training had started moving towards Kursk Oblast, with some already stationed there. According to the latest US assessment, North Korea has sent approximately 10,000 troops to Russia for training and participation in combat operations against Ukraine. Sources cited by CNN believe that some North Korean troops may already be in Ukraine.
• According to Ukrainian intelligence, in the last week of October, Russia transferred more than 7,000 North Korean soldiers to areas near Ukraine.

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