North Korea, Russia FMs Hold Strategic Talks in Moscow
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- Choe Son Hui and Sergei Lavrov held their third strategic dialogue in Moscow on July 20, with KCNA reporting on July 21 that the two sides "reached a consensus on all the issues" for implementing their June 2024 comprehensive strategic partnership treaty.
- Russia voiced full support for North Korean measures against "hostile acts" threatening its security and development rights, while North Korea pledged "invariable support" for Russian policies to eliminate what it called the root cause of the Ukraine conflict and defend Russia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
- Choe Son Hui met President Vladimir Putin on July 19 and conveyed greetings from Kim Jong Un, according to both the Kremlin and a separate KCNA report on July 21.
- North Korea deployed an estimated 14,000 troops under their mutual defence pact to help Russia repel Ukraine's 2024 incursion into the Kursk region, per the article.
- Analysts are watching whether Choe's visit signals another Russia trip by Kim Jong Un, who last met Putin for a summit in 2023 and was re-invited during their June 2024 Pyongyang summit.
- North Korea is simultaneously deepening ties with China through successive high-level July exchanges marking the 65th anniversary of their friendship and mutual defence treaty.
Why it matters: The third dialogue and full consensus on implementing the June 2024 treaty sit on top of an active combat alliance — 14,000 North Korean troops fought alongside Russian forces in Kursk — not just a diplomatic one. The Russia-North Korea-China triangle is tightening through parallel July high-level exchanges, framing the Ukraine conflict as externally provoked and positioning Kim for a possible return visit to Moscow.
