North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has made a surprise visit to Russia at the invitation of the Russian Foreign Ministry, fueling speculation that Chairman Kim Jong-un may visit Moscow within the year.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that Foreign Minister Choe is scheduled to arrive in Moscow on July 18 (local time) for an official visit at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The specific purpose and detailed schedule of her visit have not yet been disclosed.
North Korean state media, including the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), has not yet reported on Choe's visit to Russia.
This marks Choe's first visit to Russia in approximately nine months, following her previous trip in October of last year.
During her visit from October 26 to 28 last year, Choe traveled to Moscow for a working-level visit, which was lower in protocol than an official state visit, and also attended and delivered a speech at the Eurasian Security Conference held in Minsk, Belarus.
High-level exchanges between North Korea and Russia had reached a peak around the first anniversary of the "liberation of Kursk" in April, marked by the completion of a memorial hall for North Korean troops in North Korea. Following a period of relative quiet, Choe's visit appears to be injecting new momentum into bilateral relations.
In particular, given that Choe is traveling at a time without any clear diplomatic triggers, such as major multilateral meetings or anniversaries, speculation is rising that she is conducting "preliminary coordination" for a potential visit by Chairman Kim Jong-un to Russia.
Doo Jin-ho, Director of the Eurasia Center at the Korea Institute for National Strategy, assessed the timing of Choe's visit as unusual, stating, "It can be read as a precursor indicating that Chairman Kim's visit to Moscow is imminent."
The possibility of Chairman Kim visiting Russia has been consistently raised since Russian President Vladimir Putin requested a return visit following his summit with Kim in Pyongyang in June 2024.
President Putin had made the same proposal when they reunited at a military parade in China in September of last year.
Analysts suggest that for Russia, which remains diplomatically isolated due to the prolonged war in Ukraine—exacerbated by the fallout from the Middle East conflict—and faces deteriorating battlefield conditions, including drone strikes on energy facilities in its rear, a strong policy alignment and public display of solidarity with North Korea are critical.
For Chairman Kim, having recently solidified the alliance with China through high-level exchanges following President Xi Jinping's visit to North Korea and the 65th anniversary of the North Korea-China Treaty of Friendship, pursuing a visit to Russia could be a move to showcase his "backing" from both China and Russia to domestic and international audiences, thereby maximizing his diplomatic stature.
(Photo: Screen capture from Korean Central Television, Yonhap News)