The head of Russian intelligence traveled to Pyongyang earlier this week to discuss security cooperation, the North Korean agency KCNA reported on Thursday, March 28, a few weeks after Seoul accused North Korea of having sent thousands of weapons containers to Moscow to support its invasion of Ukraine.
The director of Russian Foreign Intelligence (SVR), Sergei Naryshkin, met with the North Korean Minister of State Security, Ri Chang Dae, during his visit from Monday to Wednesday.
The officials discussed strengthening cooperation “to confront increasing espionage and plots by hostile forces,” KCNA reported.
“The two parties reached a complete consensus on the outstanding issues during the two talks that took place in an atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship,” according to the same source.
Ties between both countries, “number one priority”
Both Russia and North Korea are subject to international sanctions: Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and Pyongyang for its nuclear weapons tests.
In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a summit in the Russian Far East during which Kim Jong Un said ties with Moscow were his “number one priority.”
The United States later claimed that Pyongyang had begun supplying weapons to Moscow. South Korea said in early March that North Korea had sent about 7,000 weapons containers to Russia for its war against Ukraine since transfers began in July.
Pyongyang is seeking a range of military aid in return, such as satellite technology and modernization of its Soviet-era military equipment, according to Washington.
Source: BFM TV
