Top Russian security official holds talks with North Korea’s Kim for second time in two weeks
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Mr Shoigu (left) previously visited Pyongyang and met Mr Kim on March 21 and June 4.
PHOTO: AFP
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PYONGYANG - Mr Sergei Shoigu, a senior Russian security official, held talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the second time in two weeks on June 17 and said he was carrying out "special instructions" from President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Shoigu, secretary of Russia's Security Council and a former defence minister with close ties to Mr Putin, previously visited Pyongyang and met Mr Kim on March 21 and June 4 as Moscow and Pyongyang draw closer together in the face of what they say is a hostile West.
Russia’s state Rossiiskaya Gazeta, which said Mr Shoigu and Mr Kim were holding wide-ranging security consultations on June 17, published a video of Mr Kim – wearing a traditional Mao suit – hugging Mr Shoigu on arrival before accompanying him to a hall with a long negotiating table.
“Two weeks have passed, and we are meeting again,” said Mr Kim, before chuckling.
“The president’s instruction must be fulfilled,” replied Mr Shoigu, who quickly agreed when Mr Kim said Mr Shoigu’s frequent visits showed that ties between Moscow and Pyongyang were getting stronger.
In a message last week, Mr Kim called Mr Putin his “dearest comrade” and praised their bilateral relations as a “genuine relationship between comrades-in-arms” – a reference to the role of North Korean troops who Moscow said helped it drive Ukrainian forces out of Russia’s western Kursk region in 2024.
Mr Shoigu was given the red carpet treatment in Pyongyang and met off his plane by an honour guard and Marshal Pak Jong-chon, who occupies the second most powerful position in the secretive North Korean military.
‘Special instructions from Putin’
“Sergei Shoigu arrived in Pyongyang on special instructions from Russian President Vladimir Putin,” a statement from Russia’s Security Council said.
“These agreements are being implemented within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty.”
Mr Kim and Mr Putin signed the strategic partnership treaty in June 2024, which included a mutual defence pact.
Moscow later referenced the agreement when explaining the deployment of North Korean soldiers to Kursk.
Rossiiskaya Gazeta said Mr Shoigu's talks earlier in June had, among other things, focused on proposals to commemorate the role of the North Korean troops.
British military intelligence said this week that North Korean troops had suffered more than 6,000 casualties
The US and South Korea say North Korea has shipped ballistic missiles, anti-tank rockets and millions of rounds of ammunition for Russia to use in its war against Ukraine.
Moscow and Pyongyang have denied weapons transfers.
A Reuters investigation in April 2025 found that millions of North Korean shells had made their way to the front lines in massive shipments by sea and then by train.
Russia said in June the two countries planned to shortly restart a direct passenger train service between Moscow and Pyongyang
