Russian defense minister arrives in North Korea on working visit

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Sunday on a working visit.

Belousov is scheduled to hold talks with the top leadership of North Korea and the command of the country's armed forces, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"As part of the visit, the head of the Russian military department will hold meetings in Pyongyang with the top leadership of the DPRK and the command of the country's armed forces, and will take part in ceremonial and commemorative events," the ministry said.

At the Pyongyang airport, Belousov was welcomed by North Korean Defense Minister No Gwang-chol.

Earlier in the day, another Russian senior official, the chairman of Russia's lower chamber of parliament, the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Volodin arrived in Pyongyang on Saturday to participate in Sunday's opening ceremony for the Memorial Complex and the Museum of Combat Feats of Heroes of the Foreign Military Operation, dedicated to Korean soldiers killed while fighting for Russia in the Ukraine war.

"It is a great honor for us to be in Pyongyang these days, to participate in the opening of the Memorial Complex and the Museum of Combat Feats of Heroes of the Foreign Military Operation. The Russian people will never forget the feat of the Korean soldiers," Volodin told Kim at the opening of the meeting.

Volodin also noted that the established relationship between Putin and Kim Jong-un "has become a guarantee for building the future."

Ahead of the meeting with Kim, Volodin held talks with his North Korean counterpart, the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Choe Ryong-hae.