North Korea’s Kim meets Russian minister amid deepening ties

North Korean leader’s meeting comes amid concern in Western capitals over growing ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has met with Russia’s resources minister, state media has reported, in the latest indication of rapidly warming relations between the countries.

Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Alexander Kozlov led a government delegation to Pyongyang to take part in the 11th meeting of the DPRK-Russia Inter-governmental Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Economy, Science and Technology, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Tuesday.

The pair met at the Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee headquarters, with Kim expressing appreciation for the fact that “bilateral solidarity and cooperation have been closer and deepened in different fields since the conclusion of a new treaty between” North Korea and Russia, the KCNA said.

Earlier this month, North Korea ratified a landmark mutual defence treaty with Russia called the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The treaty, ratified by Russia’s parliament on November 6, was first signed in Pyongyang on June 19 during a state visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It obliges both countries to provide immediate military assistance to one another using “all means” necessary if either faces “aggression”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un stand together during a ceremony in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024 [Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/ Kremlin Pool Photo via AP]

More than 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to support Moscow in its war in Ukraine, where they have already taken part in combat operations in Russia’s Kursk region, according to intelligence agencies in the United States and South Korea.

Newly installed NATO chief Mark Rutte last month described the development as a “significant escalation” and “dangerous expansion” of the conflict.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun has warned that North Korea is “very likely to ask” Moscow for advanced nuclear weapons technology in exchange for deploying troops.

Following his meeting with Kozlov on Tuesday, Kim said the sides should promote “inter-governmental trade, economic, scientific and technological exchange and cooperation in a more extensive and diversified way”, according to the KCNA.

Kim added that Russia-North Korea relations had “reached a new strategic level”, according to the state media outlet.

A delegation of the Russian army’s Military Academy of the General Staff also arrived in the North Korean capital on Monday, according to state media, while a delegation from Pyongyang city council left for Russia.

The purpose of the delegations was not immediately clear.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies