Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu arrived in North Korea on Friday and will meet with leader Kim Jong-un, according to media reports by the two countries.
Leading a delegation from Moscow’s Security Council, Shoigu is scheduled to meet with Kim and other Pyongyang officials, Russia’s TASS news agency said.
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, shakes hands with Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia's Security Council, in Pyongyang on Sept. 13, 2024, in this photo carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the following day. [YONHAP]](https://www.koreadailyus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/0321-shoigu.jpg)
The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) also reported on Shoigu’s arrival later in the day.
The North’s Vice Chairman of its ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission Pak Jong-chon, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jong-gyu, Russian Ambassador Alexandr Matsegora and other senior government officials greeted Shoigu and his delegation.
The delegation visited the Liberation Tower in Pyongyang, which commemorates the Soviet Union soldiers who died during the 1950-53 Korean War, and laid a wreath, the KCNA said.
The visit comes six months after Shoigu’s previous trip to North Korea in September 2024, during which he was widely considered to be serving as a special envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Experts suggest Shoigu may brief Kim on Russia’s ongoing negotiations with the United States over a partial ceasefire in Ukraine.
“With partial ceasefire talks between the United States and Russia set to open in Saudi Arabia next Monday, it is likely that Shoigu is there to inform Kim about the latest developments and Russia’s position,” said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
“North Korea may request the repatriation of all its captured soldiers in any potential prisoner-of-war exchange deal included in a ceasefire arrangement,” Yang added.
The latest meeting could also see discussions on expanding military cooperation, including the Russian transfer of advanced missiles and other high-tech arms technology to North Korea in return for its troop deployment. Recent reports suggested that the North’s troops were deployed as Russian soldiers made gains on the Kursk front line that reportedly recaptured significant territory.
The visit also marks the latest in a recent series of high-level exchanges between the two countries.
Earlier this month, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko traveled to Pyongyang, where he met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and discussed arranging “political contacts at the high and top levels,” possibly between Kim and Putin.
During past visits, Shoigu played a key role in shaping military and strategic cooperation between the allies.
When he last visited Pyongyang and met with Kim in September 2024, they discussed deepening strategic dialogue and expanding cooperation. Just a month later, it was revealed that North Korea had dispatched thousands of its troops to support Russia in Ukraine.
Shoigu also traveled to North Korea in July 2023 while serving as Russia’s defense minister. Less than two months later, Kim made a surprise visit to Russia’s Far East, where he held a roughly four-hour summit with Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region.
BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]
