Moscow and Pyongyang are increasingly close, facing challenges such as the war in Ukraine, and the escalating tension with South Korea. In this context of the strategic alliance, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belusov arrived on Friday for an official visit to North Korea, as reported by the country’s news agencies, citing the Ministry of Defense.

Andrei Belusov will hold bilateral meetings with North Korea’s military and military-political leadership, the agencies said. At the airport in Pyongyang, Belusov was warmly received by the DPRK’s Defense Minister, General No Gwan Chol.

The bilateral defense agreement was signed in June and ratified more recently.

Both countries face international sanctions — Pyongyang for developing a nuclear arsenal, Moscow for its war against Ukraine.

South Korea and the US accuse North Korea of ​​sending thousands of soldiers to Russia to fight what they say are Ukrainian forces alongside the Russian army.

South Korean government officials and a research agency said last week that in return, Moscow supplies Pyongyang with fuel, air defense systems and financial aid.

It is noted that Ukraine faces constant attacks with Russian ballistic missiles, about a third of which use North Korean weapons that they can only fly because they work with circuits made in the West and which were taken despite sanctions, according to Ukrainian military officials.

Russia has fired about 60 North Korean KN-23 missiles against Ukraine this year, according to a Ukrainian defense official. That represents nearly one in three of the 194 ballistic missiles launched so far in 2024, according to a CNN tally of strikes publicly acknowledged by Ukraine’s air force.

For Kiev’s part, the Ukrainian delegation was scheduled to visit South Korea this week to meet with South Korean President Yun Suk-yeol and discuss Seoul’s support for Kiev, as North Korea sent Russia new shipments artillery systems and rocket launchers to support Moscow’s military operations.

Seoul has emerged as a leading exporter of military equipment and is under pressure from some Western countries and Kiev to provide Ukraine with weapons. So far it has been limited to providing Kiev with non-lethal aid and demining equipment due to its long-standing policy of not arming countries involved in conflicts.

But after the deployment of North Korean troops alongside Russian forces, Seoul is considering revising its military equipment export policy and is now not ruling out sending weapons directly to Kiev.