Russian foreign minister thanked North Korea for its unwavering support during visit to Pyongyang

Asia-Pacific, News October 20, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Pyongyang for his two-day official trip on October 18, 2023. The Kremlin’s top diplomat met with his North Korean counterpart and thanked Pyongyang for its unwavering support to Moscow.

Russian state television ran footage of crowds greeting Lavrov in the pouring rain in Pyongyang. Lavrov said his visit was an opportunity to discuss implementing the agreements between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that were made during Kim’s visit to Russia in September.

Lavrov’s visit to North Korea is the latest step in improving relations between Moscow and Pyongyang. His visit comes only days after the United States accused North Korea of supplying weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Soon after arriving in Pyongyang, Lavrov attended a reception where he met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui. According to the KCNA reports, Hui told Lavrov that Russia and North Korea were building an “unbreakable comradely relationship” under the “strategic” decisions and leadership of Kim and Putin.

During his statement at the reception, Lavrov said Russia deeply values North Korea’s “unwavering and principled support” for its war on Ukraine as well as Pyongyang’s decision to recognize the independence of Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui — ^{Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, center left, toasts with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, center right, during a reception in Pyongyang, North Korea on October 18, 2023. (Image Credit: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service/via AP)}

“We are fully aware that many countries worldwide share similar viewpoints and assessments, but only a select few, such as the DPRK, explicitly declare their solidarity with Russia and can express it openly,” Lavrov said during his remarks.

Lavrov praised North Korea for “firmly defending its sovereignty and security, remaining unfazed by any pressure of the U.S. and the West,” and assured Pyongyang that Russia fully supports the policies of Kim’s government to protect its security and economic interests.

United States’ dangerous North Korea policy

During his meeting with the North Korean counterpart, Lavrov slammed the U.S.’s anti-North Korea policy and said that Russia is “seriously worried about the intensification of military activity of the United States, Japan, and South Korea.”

“We oppose this unconstructive and dangerous line,” he said, adding that the United States was placing “strategic infrastructure, including nuclear elements”, in the region without elaborating.

*^{South Korea fires a missile during a live-fire exercise in response to North Korea’s nuclear test. (Image Credit: Twitter/GVS)}*

In the face of North Korea’s increasing missile tests, Seoul, Tokyo, and Washington have staged joint exercises and other military activities in the region. U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered USS Ronald Regan aircraft carrier arrived at South Korea’s southern port of Busan along with its battle group on October 12, adding to the increasing tensions.

The arrival of the U.S.’s nuclear-capable aircraft carrier has enraged Pyongyang, which views the deployment of U.S. weaponry around the Korean Peninsula as a major security threat in the region.

Kim-Putin relations

Frequent diplomatic engagements between North Korea and Russia have alerted the U.S. and its regional allies. Washington has repeatedly accused Pyongyang of supplying weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, a claim that Russia and North Korea have rejected.

Western analysts and observers believe North Korean leader Kim is seeking Russian help to build more reliable weapons systems targeting the U.S. and South Korea. Washington and Seoul have warned that Moscow and Pyongyang would pay a price if they move ahead with the speculated weapons transfer deal in breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban any weapons trading with North Korea.