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North Koreans cheering Sergey Lavrov on his arrival

Photo: RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / via REUTERS

High-ranking visit from Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday for a two-day visit at the invitation of the North Korean leadership. In addition to Lavrov, new Russian diplomats landed in the capital for Moscow's representation, as well as a construction crew to renovate an embassy building, Russian news agencies reported. Lavrov is also expected to prepare a trip to Pyongyang by Russian President Vladimir Putin there. The Kremlin had confirmed that there was an invitation for Putin to pay a state visit to North Korea.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia in September. The two neighbouring countries have recently significantly intensified their cooperation. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also recently visited North Korea. According to Moscow, this is Lavrov's fourth visit to Pyongyang after 2004, 2009 and 2018. This time he was received in pouring rain by around 200 North Koreans in national costumes and with flowers in their hands, as well as by 100 officials, it said.

North Korea has come under international criticism for supplying weapons for Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine. The country has given Russia more than 1000,<> containers of military equipment and ammunition, the White House said last Friday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that the U.S. had not provided any evidence of this. However, he pointed out that Russia and North Korea had decided to expand cooperation in "all areas" – no one had to interfere in this.

Lavrov consistently thanked Pyongyang for its support during his visit. "We very much appreciate your fundamental and unequivocal support for Russia's actions in the context of the special military operation in Ukraine," he said, according to the Russian news agency Ria Novosti.

The two historical allies, Russia and North Korea, are both subject to massive sanctions from the West – Moscow for its offensive in Ukraine, Pyongyang for nuclear weapons tests.

dop/dpa/AFP