Russian defense minister visits North Korea for talks with military and political leaders 

SEOUL, South Korea — 

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived successful North Korea connected Friday for talks with North Korean subject and governmental leaders arsenic the countries deepen their practice implicit Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine.

In announcing the visit, Russia’s Defense Ministry didn’t accidental whom Belousov would conscionable oregon the intent of the talks. North Korean authorities media didn’t instantly corroborate the visit.

Belousov, a erstwhile economist, replaced Sergei Shoigu arsenic defence curate successful May aft Russian President Vladimir Putin started a 5th word successful power.

Photos released by the Defense Ministry showed Belousov walking alongside North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol connected a reddish carpet astatine Pyongyang airport. North Korean subject officials were seen clapping nether a banner that read, “Complete enactment and solidarity with the warring Russian service and people.”

Belousov noted aft his accomplishment that subject practice betwixt the countries is expanding. He applauded a strategical concern statement signed by Putin and North Korean person Kim Jong Un pursuing their June gathering successful Pyongyang, which helium said is aimed astatine reducing tensions by maintaining a “balance of power” successful the portion and lowering the hazard of war, including with atomic weapons.

The June gathering demonstrated the “highest level of communal trust” betwixt the leaders, Belousov said, and “also the communal tendency of our countries to further grow mutually beneficial practice successful a analyzable planetary environment.”

North Korean Defense Minister No besides praised the expanding practice betwixt the countries’ militaries and reiterated North Korea’s enactment for Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine, describing it arsenic a “just conflict to support the country’s sovereign rights and information interests.”

The sojourn comes days aft South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with a Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov successful the South Korean capital, Seoul, and called for the 2 countries to formulate countermeasures successful effect to North Korea’s dispatch of thousands of troops to Russia to assistance its combat against Ukraine.

Kim successful caller months has prioritized relations with Russia arsenic helium tries to interruption retired of isolation and fortify his planetary footing, embracing the thought of a “new Cold War.”

The United States and its allies person said North Korea has sent much than 10,000 soldiers to Russia successful caller weeks and that immoderate of those troops were engaging successful combat.

North Korea has besides been accused of supplying artillery systems, missiles and different subject instrumentality to Russia that whitethorn assistance Putin further widen an astir three-year war. There are besides concerns successful Seoul that North Korea, successful speech for its troops and arms supplies, could person Russian exertion transfers that could amended its atomic weapons and rocket programs.

“The Russian defence curate doesn’t sojourn North Korea conscionable to observe bilateral ties,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a prof astatine Ewha University successful Seoul. “This sojourn indicates Putin and Kim’s subject practice successful usurpation of planetary instrumentality is astir to summation further.”

Yoon’s nationalist information adviser, Shin Wonsik, said successful a TV interrogation past week that Seoul believes that Russia has provided aerial defence rocket systems to North Korea successful speech for sending its troops.

Shin said Russia besides appears to person fixed economical assistance to North Korea and assorted subject technologies, including those needed for the North’s efforts to physique a reliable space-based surveillance system, which Kim has stressed is important for enhancing the menace of nuclear-capable missiles targeting South Korea. Shin didn’t accidental whether Russia has already transferred delicate atomic weapons and ballistic rocket technologies to North Korea.

Yoon’s bureau hasn’t said whether the 2 governments discussed the anticipation of South Korea supplying weapons to Ukraine successful his talks with Umerov.

Since Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful 2022, South Korea has joined U.S.-led sanctions against Moscow and provided humanitarian and fiscal enactment to Kyiv. But it has avoided straight supplying arms, citing a longstanding argumentation of not giving lethal weapons to countries actively engaged successful conflicts.

Yoon has said his authorities volition instrumentality phased countermeasures, linking the level of its effect to the grade of Russian-North Korean cooperation.

It wasn’t instantly wide whether Belousov volition conscionable with Kim, the North Korean leader. Last year, Kim hosted a Russian delegation led by then-Defense Minister Shoigu and gave him a idiosyncratic circuit of a North Korean arms exhibition, successful what extracurricular critics likened to a income pitch.

That lawsuit came weeks earlier Kim traveled to Russia for talks with Putin which sped up subject practice betwixt the countries. During different gathering successful Pyongyang successful June this year, Kim and Putin signed a pact stipulating communal subject assistance if either state is attacked, successful what was considered the 2 countries’ biggest defence woody since the extremity of the Cold War.

The Russian study astir Belousov’s sojourn came arsenic South Korea scrambled combatant jets to repel six Russian and 5 Chinese warplanes that temporarily entered the country’s aerial defence recognition portion astir its eastbound and confederate seas, according to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. It said the Russian and Chinese planes did not breach South Korea’s territorial airspace.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it held telephone calls with Chinese and Russian defence attaches based successful Seoul to protestation the flights and impulse the countries to forestall recurrences.