Putin Thanks North Korea as Kim Russia Trip Talk Grows
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- Putin met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at the Kremlin on Sunday and thanked Pyongyang for supporting Russia's war against Ukraine, per Russian state media and Tass.
- The unexplained purpose of Choe's visit — no multilateral event or state anniversary — has fueled speculation it involves preparations for a possible Kim Jong Un trip to Russia.
- Choe told Putin that Kim Jong Un remained committed to the "comprehensive development" of Russia ties, per Tass, while North Korean state media said she left Saturday at Russian FM Sergey Lavrov's invitation without disclosing the purpose.
- During Putin's June 2024 trip to Pyongyang, the two leaders signed a strategic partnership agreement pledging mutual aid if either country faces aggression, and Putin invited Kim to visit Russia again.
- Kim has sent thousands of troops and large weapons supplies to support Russia's war in Ukraine, possibly in return for economic aid and technology transfers that experts say are helping North Korea improve its military capabilities.
- South Korea's Unification Ministry spokesperson Yoon Min Ho said Monday Seoul is closely monitoring the meetings but declined to confirm whether a Putin-Kim summit is being discussed.
Why it matters: The Kremlin meeting operationalizes the mutual defense pact Putin and Kim signed in Pyongyang last June, and Choe's unexplained visit points toward a Kim trip to Russia. Choe's trip came alongside parallel North Korea-China high-level exchanges this month — Wang Huning's visit to Pyongyang and Kim's economic chief Pak Thae Song meeting Xi — suggesting Pyongyang is coordinating its Russia and Beijing tracks as one foreign-policy front.
