Russian delegations visit Pyongyang as Ukraine war deepens ties

SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Monday with Russia’s natural resources minister in Pyongyang, state media reported, as visiting delegations from Moscow highlighted deepening ties amid the Ukraine war.

Kim met with Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov, who is leading a delegation to an inter-governmental panel on “cooperation in trade, economy, science and technology,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Meanwhile a delegation from a Russian military academy also arrived in the North Korean capital, KCNA said, without providing details on the purpose of the visit.

READ: North Korea ratifies defense treaty with Russia

The United States and South Korea have accused the nuclear-armed North of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine, with experts saying Kim was eager for Moscow’s advanced technology, plus battle experience for his troops, in return.

North Korea recently ratified a landmark defense pact with Russia, formalizing months of tightening military bonds between two nations that were Communist allies throughout the Cold War.

Noting the new treaty, Kim called in his meeting with Kozlov for “further promoting” trade as well as “scientific and technological exchange,” according to KCNA.

Their meeting “proceeded in a friendly and sincere atmosphere,” KCNA said.

READ: North Korea says will stand by Russia until ‘victory’ in Ukraine

In exchange for North Korea’s sending troops, the West fears Russia is offering technological support that could advance Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.

The reclusive state recently fired a salvo of ballistic missiles and tested a new solid-fuel ICBM, while Washington has said that North Korean troops have begun combat operations alongside Russian forces.