North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Friday, affirming North Korea’s support for Russia “until victory” in its war against Ukraine.
The meeting took place amid reports from Western sources suggesting that North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia, potentially for deployment in Ukraine.
“We reiterate that we will always stand firmly by our Russian comrades until the day of victory,” Choe said to Lavrov during the televised discussions, as per a Russian translation.
She further expressed confidence that, under the leadership of Russian President Vladimir Putin, “the Russian army and people will achieve a great victory in their sacred struggle to defend the nation’s sovereignty and security.”
Lavrov praised the strong ties between the two countries’ military and intelligence services, saying this cooperation would help “achieve significant security goals for our citizens and yours.” He also conveyed Moscow’s “deep gratitude to our Korean friends for their principled stance on the events in Ukraine.”
The two ministers did not address the reports of North Korean troop deployments in Russia. Earlier in the day, Lavrov and Choe also unveiled a memorial plaque commemorating North Korean leader Kim Il-sung’s visit to the Soviet Union in 1949.
On Thursday, the United States reported that around 8,000 North Korean troops were stationed in Russia’s Kursk region, which saw a surprise ground assault by Ukrainian forces in early August.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a recent interview with South Korean media, criticized Western allies for what he described as a lack of action regarding North Korean troop deployments in Russia.
