SEOUL (Reuters) -Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in North Korea on Friday, North Korea’s state media KCNA said on Saturday, the latest visit by a senior Russian official to the isolated state amid warming ties between the countries.
Lavrov’s visit, scheduled to Sunday, includes a meeting between the countries’ foreign ministers, KCNA reported.
Lavrov flew out of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur following the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting and arrived in Wonsan, North Korea’s eastern coastal city, which is home to a recently opened resort and known for its missile and naval facilities.
Lavrov’s visit is the latest high-level meeting between the two countries amid a dramatic upgrading of their strategic cooperation that now includes a mutual defence pact.
South Korean intelligence service has said North Korea may be preparing to deploy additional troops in July or August, after sending more than 10,000 soldiers to fight with Russia in the war against Ukraine.
North Korea has agreed to dispatch 6,000 military engineers and builders for reconstruction in Russia’s conflict-hit Kursk region.
Russian news agencies also reported Lavrov’s arrival and said after North Korea he is expected to travel to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting, which is set to take place on Monday and Tuesday.
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Jack Kim; Editing by Chris Reese and Rod Nickel)
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