North Korea’s foreign minister and her Russian counterpart concluded a third round of strategic dialogue in Moscow with a joint pledge to accelerate the implementation of their June 2024 comprehensive strategic partnership treaty. According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Choe Son Hui and Sergey Lavrov “reached consensus on all issues discussed,” with Pyongyang expressing “invariable support for all the internal and external policies of the Russian Federation to eliminate the root cause of the Ukrainian dispute” and Moscow offering full backing for North Korean measures against what it termed “hostile acts” threatening its sovereign rights and security interests.

The Russian foreign ministry stated that both sides confirmed their commitment to developing the full range of bilateral relations at a “qualitatively new allied level” and shared an assessment that “irresponsible behaviour by the United States and its allies” is the primary cause of regional degradation. The ministry framed the deepening of Russia–DPRK ties as a contribution to regional and international security and to the formation of a “just multipolar world order.” During a separate Kremlin meeting, President Vladimir Putin thanked Choe for North Korea’s support of what Moscow calls its special military operation, praising the “heroic deeds” of North Korean soldiers, while Choe conveyed Kim Jong Un’s commitment to the “comprehensive development” of relations.

The diplomatic choreography has immediate military dimensions. Under the defence pact, North Korea has sent an estimated 14,000 troops to Russia’s Kursk region and supplied weapons systems. Analysts in Seoul and Western capitals assess that Pyongyang receives in return financial assistance, food, energy supplies, and military technology that help advance its nuclear and missile programmes. The visit by Choe, which lacked an obvious multilateral occasion, has prompted speculation among observers that she is laying the groundwork for another summit between Kim and Putin; the Russian leader extended an invitation during their June 2024 meeting in Pyongyang. South Korea’s Unification Ministry said it was monitoring the talks but declined to assess whether a leaders’ meeting was being prepared.

The Moscow meeting forms part of a broader North Korean diplomatic offensive that has seen simultaneous high-level exchanges with China, including a visit by Premier Pak Thae Song to Beijing and a trip to Pyongyang by Chinese Politburo Standing Committee member Wang Huning. Kim has suspended meaningful dialogue with Washington and Seoul since 2019 and, according to assessments by US officials, has used Russia’s war on Ukraine as a distraction to accelerate his weapons programmes while demanding the abandonment of denuclearisation preconditions. The two foreign ministries agreed to continue the strategic dialogue format and to hold further exchanges at various levels; a possible Kim visit to Russia remains unconfirmed but is widely anticipated in regional capitals.