Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday that Moscow was discussing joint exercises with North Korea, while US leaks said a meeting between the leaders of the two countries was imminent.
Shoigu was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying: "Why not?! These are our neighbors, and there is an old Russian proverb that says: You do not choose your neighbors and it is better to live with your neighbors in peace and harmony."
When asked about the possibility of joint exercises between the two countries, he replied that the matter was under discussion.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Monday, citing South Korea's intelligence service, that Shoigu had suggested to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that their two countries conduct naval exercises, with the participation of China.
Shoigu visited North Korea to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War in July and met with Kim.
At the time, North Korean state media reported that they had attended a defense exhibition that included North Korean ballistic missiles.
Visit and talks on weapons
In the same context, the White House announced on Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un plans to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia, as part of the ongoing "arms negotiations" between the two countries aimed at supplying Moscow with North Korean weapons.
US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrian Watson said: "As we have previously publicly warned, arms negotiations between Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are progressing exponentially."
"We have information that Kim Jong-un expects these talks to continue to include a diplomatic dialogue in Russia at the leaders' level," she said.
The New York Times reported that the North Korean president plans to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in September to discuss the possibility of supplying weapons to Moscow.
Kim will travel from the capital Pyongyang on an armoured train to Vladivostok, where he will meet with Putin.
According to the newspaper's sources, the two leaders will be on the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok to attend the Eastern Economic Forum scheduled for September 10-13.