Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in North Korea on Friday for a working visit, where he met with his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son Hui. The visit is the latest indication of deepening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang.
Lavrov landed in the city of Wonsan, a coastal area recently designated as a special tourist zone for Russian visitors. The Wonsan-Kalma tourist zone includes water parks and designated beaches and is part of an effort to boost cross-border travel and economic engagement. Direct passenger train service between Pyongyang and Moscow has also recently resumed.
According to the official Russian news agency TASS, Lavrov is expected to remain in North Korea until Sunday, after which he will travel to China to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Relations between Russia and North Korea have grown rapidly since the two countries signed a Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership last July, formally establishing a military alliance. The agreement was followed by North Korea sending troops to Russia’s Kursk region in August to assist in repelling Ukrainian incursions.
Lavrov’s arrival in North Korea comes just one day after he met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Malaysia. The Russian Foreign Ministry has not issued any comments about the meeting, suggesting it may have been tense, especially in light of reports that the Trump administration is preparing to send additional arms to Ukraine—a reversal of Trump’s previous campaign pledge to end the war.
Lavrov had been in Kuala Lumpur participating in several regional diplomatic forums, including the Russia–ASEAN platform, the East Asia Forum, and the ASEAN Regional Forum for security issues.
On Friday, media reports emerged that the Trump administration has approved a $300 million weapons package for Ukraine, with the Senate Armed Services Committee also greenlighting an additional $500 million. President Trump has teased a “major announcement” regarding Russia set for Monday, and has suggested that NATO will play a central role in delivering new arms packages to Ukraine.