North Korean leader discusses military cooperation with Russian defense chief

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) — North Korea's visiting leader Kim Jong-un held talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow to bolster military cooperation and exchange, state media reported Sunday.

Kim met with Shoigu in Vladivostok on Saturday as he is on a tour of Russia's Far East after holding a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Wednesday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

They "exchanged their constructive opinions on the practical issues arising in further strengthening the strategic and tactical coordination, cooperation and mutual exchange between the armed forces of the two countries and in the fields of their national defence and security," the KCNA said.

Earlier on Saturday, Kim also visited the Knevichi Airbase, where he inspected strategic bombers, multi-role fighter jets, and other warplanes, as well as Russia's Pacific Sea Fleet, and boarded the Marshal Shaposhnikov frigate.

He came to Russia on Tuesday at Putin's invitation, holding talks at the Vostochny Cosmodrome.

Russia is the first country that the North Korean leader has visited since early 2020, the start of the pandemic, when the nation's borders were closed.

Before that, he came to Russia in April 2019, and he and Putin held talks in Vladivostok, their first meeting.