SAEDNEWS: Russian chief diplomat Sergei Lavrov is set to visit North Korea over the upcoming weekend, according to state media, his third trip to the DPRK since 2023.
According to Saednews, The Korean Central News Agency said in a one-line report on Wednesday that Lavrov will visit Pyongyang from Friday through Sunday at the invitation of the DPRK’s foreign ministry, without disclosing any further details. It is likely that the Russian foreign minister will meet his counterpart Choe Son Hui and possibly leader Kim Jong Un.
It will be Lavrov’s third visit to North Korea in two years. He first traveled to Pyongyang for talks with Choe and Kim in Oct. 2023 and joined Russian President Vladimir Putin on his trip to the DPRK in June 2024.
It was during that trip that the two leaders signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement that laid the groundwork for Moscow-Pyongyang military ties, eventually evolving into a de facto defense alliance. Both countries have used the deal to justify the deployment of North Korean soldiers to fight against Ukrainian forces in Kursk.
Lavrov previously welcomed Choe in Moscow in Nov. 2024, with the two diplomats holding a “strategic dialogue” and pledging to bolster military ties amid their joint resistance towards the US-led pressure. Choe also traveled to Moscow in January that year for a meeting with Putin.
Lavrov’s deputy Andrei Rudenko previously announced his boss’s plans to visit North Korea this year in March, although he didn’t reveal a timeframe.
The official’s arrival will come amid the stalled Ukrainian peace process and renewed tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and the Kremlin.
It will also follow a similar visit by another high-ranking Russian security official, Sergei Shoigu, to Pyongyang last month, during which Kim vowed to send 6,000 military engineers and construction workers to Kursk on top of the 12,000-strong initial deployment since October.
