Putin, NKorea Foreign Minister Meet    07/20 06:33

   

   SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin met with North 
Korea's foreign minister and thanked Pyongyang for supporting his war against 
Ukraine, in the latest high-level diplomacy between the countries, Russian 
state media reported.

   The visit by North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui comes without an 
obvious occasion, such as a multilateral diplomatic event or state anniversary, 
and has raised speculation that she may be coordinating a possible visit to 
Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korean state media said Choe 
departed for Russia on Saturday at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister 
Sergey Lavrov but has yet to comment on the purpose of her visit.

   Yoon Min Ho, spokesperson for South Korea's Unification Ministry, which 
handles affairs related to North Korea, said Monday that Seoul was closely 
monitoring the meetings but declined to assess whether Moscow and Pyongyang 
were discussing another summit between their leaders.

   Russia's Tass news agency said Putin during his meeting with Choe at the 
Kremlin on Sunday praised the countries' bilateral relations and reiterated his 
"gratitude to the North Korean leadership and people" for supporting his 
military operations against Ukraine. Choe told Putin that Kim remains committed 
to the "comprehensive development" of relations with Russia, Tass said.

   Kim traveled to Russia's Far East for summits with Putin in 2019 and 2023. 
Putin invited Kim to visit Russia again during their summit in Pyongyang in 
June 2024, where the leaders signed a strategic partnership agreement pledging 
mutual aid if either country faces aggression.

   Kim in recent years has made Russia the priority of his foreign policy, 
sending thousands of troops and huge supplies of weapons to support Putin's war 
in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for economic aid and technology transfers that 
some experts say are helping advance North Korea's military capabilities.

   Kim has also been seeking stronger ties with China, including hosting 
Chinese President Xi Jinping for a June summit in Pyongyang, as he embraces the 
idea of a "new Cold War" and projecting Pyongyang as part of a united front 
against Washington.

   Choe's visit to Moscow came shortly after North Korea and China exchanged 
high-level visits, with North Korean Cabinet premier, Pak Thae Song, Kim's top 
economic official, meeting Xi in Beijing and Wang Huning, a member of the 
Chinese Communist Party's powerful Politburo Standing Committee, visiting Kim 
in Pyongyang this month.

   Kim has suspended all meaningful dialogue with the United States and South 
Korea since the collapse of his nuclear diplomacy with U.S. President Donald 
Trump in 2019. He has used Russia's war on Ukraine as a distraction to 
accelerate the advancement of his nuclear weapons and missile program, while 
demanding that Washington abandon its calls for North Korea's nuclear 
disarmament as a precondition for talks.