North Korea Announces Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui Departs for Moscow by Special Plane

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui departed from Pyongyang yesterday (July 18) for a visit to Russia, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

According to the KCNA report today, Foreign Minister Choe departed for Russia on a special plane from Pyongyang International Airport at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The agency reported that she was seen off by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jong-gyu and Vladimir Topeha, the Charge d'Affaires ad interim of the Russian Embassy in North Korea.

The report did not disclose the specific purpose or detailed schedule of the Foreign Minister's visit.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry also announced on the same day that Foreign Minister Choe would arrive in Russia on July 18 (local time) for an "official visit," without providing further details on her schedule.

This marks Foreign Minister Choe's first visit to Russia in approximately nine months, since October of last year.

During her visit from October 26 to 28 last year, she visited Moscow for a "working-level visit," which is lower in protocol than an official visit, and also attended and delivered a speech at the Eurasian Security Conference held in Minsk, Belarus.

Given that Foreign Minister Choe is traveling at a time without any apparent major diplomatic events or anniversaries, speculation has been raised that this may be a "preliminary coordination" for a visit to Russia by Chairman Kim Jong-un.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has requested a return visit from Chairman Kim following their Pyongyang summit in June 2024 and their meeting at the Victory Day military parade in China in September of last year, leading to persistent speculation about a possible visit to Russia by the Chairman.

Choe's current visit also draws attention as it comes at a time when North Korea is strengthening its ties with China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping made a state visit to Pyongyang last month for a summit with Chairman Kim Jong-un, and the two countries have been increasing exchanges, including high-level visits, around the 65th anniversary of the signing of the "North Korea-China Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance" (July 11).

Observers suggest that Foreign Minister Choe may share the details of the North Korea-China summit with the Russian side and convey North Korea's commitment to its so-called "blood alliance" with Russia.

(Photo: KCTV screen, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.