Foreign ministers from Russia and North Korea meet amid Western concerns over weapons deliveries

Days after the United States accused the North of sending new weapons shipments to Russia to help its war operations in Ukraine, the foreign ministers of Russia and North Korea met in Pyongyang on Thursday for discussions that were anticipated to center on how to strengthen their military relations.

Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday for a two-day visit. Later in the day, during a speech at a reception, Lavrov expressed gratitude to North Korea for its vociferous backing of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.

Lavrov’s visit is being closely watched by the outside world to see if the two nations will reveal any details about how they will strengthen their security partnership or when Russian President Vladimir Putin will make his promised trip to Pyongyang in retaliation for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s recent trip to Russia’s Far East.

Kim visited many significant Russian weapons manufacturing facilities during his visit to Russia, where he met Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, the country’s most significant domestic space launch facility. That sparked widespread suspicion that Kim wants to acquire advanced Russian technology to update his nuclear arsenal in exchange for Russia providing conventional weapons to replenish its depleted arsenal.

At the beginning of his meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Sun Hui on Thursday, Lavrov reportedly said, “We can confidently say that the relations have reached a qualitatively new strategic level after the historic summit between President Putin and Chairman of State Affairs Kim Jong Un at the Vostochny Cosmodrome on September 13.”

Details of the meeting were not immediately made public by either nation. However, Lavrov said on Wednesday that the purpose of his trip was to talk about putting into effect the vague agreements that Putin and Kim agreed during their meeting in September.

Lavrov stated that Russia deeply values Pyongyang’s recognition of the independence of Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine during a dinner banquet held for him, as well as Pyongyang’s “unwavering and principled support” for its war on Ukraine.

“We are fully aware that many nations around the world hold similar views and evaluations, but only a few, like (North Korea), explicitly declare and are able to publicly express their solidarity with Russia,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov also complimented North Korea for “remaining unfazed by any pressure of the U.S. and the West,” according to North Korea’s official media, and said that Russia fully supports Kim’s efforts to defend its security and economic interests.

According to the official Korean Central News Agency of the North, Choe said at the dinner banquet that Kim and Putin’s “strategic” actions and leadership were fostering a “unbreakable comradely relationship” between Pyongyang and Moscow.

The White House said on Friday that North Korea has sent more than a thousand containers worth of weapons and military hardware to Russia.

The containers were allegedly put onto a ship flying the Russian flag before being transported by rail to southern Russia, according to pictures given by the White House. According to the White House, the containers were transported between Najin, North Korea, and Dunay, Russia, between September 7 and October 1.

The United States has accused North Korea of giving Russia ammunition, artillery shells, and rockets since last year, most likely replicas of Soviet-era weapons. North Korea has vehemently denied shipping guns to Russia, but South Korean authorities said that Russian officials have already utilized North Korean weapons in Ukraine.

In light of their distinct, escalating conflicts with the United States, Moscow and Pyongyang have recently engaged in a frenzy of diplomatic activity that highlights how their interests are converging.

When Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defense minister, on a visit to North Korea in July, Kim accompanied him to a military parade and an armaments show where some of the North’s newest and most potent weapons were on display.