SEOUL: A top Russian security official traveled to Pyongyang for the second time this month for another meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russian state media reported Tuesday, the latest display of the countries\u2019 deepening ties amid President Vladimir Putin\u2019s war against Ukraine.
\nRussia\u2019s Tass news agency said Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu arrived in the North Korean capital on an unspecified \u201cspecial\u201d mission from Putin and was expected to meet with Kim. North Korean state media didn\u2019t immediately confirm the visit.
\nKim has supplied Russia with thousands of troops and large shipments of military equipment, including artillery and ballistic missiles, to support its military operation in Ukraine. Washington and Seoul have expressed concern that, in return, Kim may seek Russian technology transfers that could enhance the threat posed by his nuclear-armed military.
\nIn April, Pyongyang and Moscow officially confirmed North Korean troops\u2019 deployment to Russia for the first time, saying that soldiers of the two countries were fighting alongside each other to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia\u2019s Kursk border region. Putin then thanked North Korea\u2019s participation in the war and promised not to forget their sacrifices.
\nIn their previous meeting on June 4, Kim told Shoigu that his government would \u201cunconditionally support\u201d Russia over the war in Ukraine and other critical international issues as they discussed strengthening the strategic partnership between their countries, according to North Korean state media. Tass then reported that Shoigu and Kim also discussed prospects for rebuilding the Kursk region and outlined steps to commemorate the combat contributions of North Korean soldiers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SEOUL: A top Russian security official traveled to Pyongyang for the second time this month for another meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russian state media reported Tuesday, the latest display of the countries\u2019 deepening ties amid President Vladimir Putin\u2019s war against Ukraine. Russia\u2019s Tass news agency said Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":484829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-484815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n