North Korea reports on ‘Jo Yong-won visiting Russia’… “Friendship and alliance in battle are becoming stronger day by day.”

The Korean Central News Agency reported on the 15th that a party and government delegation led by Cho Yong-won, secretary of the North Korean Workers' Party Central Committee, visited Russia.

The Korean Central News Agency reported on this day, "As the militant friendship, friendship, and alliance between the two countries, which share independence and justice as their common ideology, are becoming more solidified day by day, the party and government delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will visit the Russian Federation at the invitation of Comrade Dmitry Medvezev, chairman of the former Russian party 'Unified Russia'."

The delegation departed Pyongyang by private plane on the 14th and arrived in Moscow.

Members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the North Korean Workers' Party, including Choi Son-hee, Joo Chang-il, Shin Young-il, Jeong Kyung-taek, Kim Seong-nam, Yoo Kwang-woo, and Kim Deok-hoon, as well as Russian Ambassador to North Korea Andrei Leonidovich Podyolyshev sent a delegation from Pyongyang International Airport.

At the Moscow airport, Andrei Klimov, a member of the Supreme Council of United Russia and First Vice Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian State Council, and North Korean Ambassador to Russia Shin Hong-chul welcomed the delegation.

The news agency reported that the North Korean flag was hoisted along with the Russian flag on the flagpole at the airfield.

However, the communication did not mention the specific schedule and period of stay.

Japan's Kyodo News reported the news of Cho Yong-won's visit to Russia the previous day and predicted that the policy of strengthening North Korea-Russia relations would be confirmed through a meeting with Medvedev.

North Korea and Russia, which have become close as a 'blood alliance' with the signing of the 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty' in 2024 and the dispatch of troops to the Ukraine war, have recently been noticeably expanding their human exchanges.

Meanwhile, it is expected that cooperation discussions at the high-level party level will be further strengthened as Party Secretary Cho Yong-won, who is considered a close associate of North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un, visits Russia in person.

In July of this year, North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui made a surprise visit to Russia at the invitation of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, leading to speculation that Chairman Kim's visit to Moscow within the year may be on the horizon. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister also mentioned that he invited Chairman Kim to visit Russia last September.

This visit to Russia is also noteworthy in that it took place ahead of the trilateral summit between the United States, China, and Russia to be held in Shenzhen, China, on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

While there is a possibility that the Korean Peninsula issue will be discussed at the summit, there are observations that it could be used as an opportunity to convey North Korea's intentions.