Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea in March this year: KCNA/AP
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu has arrived in Pyongyang with a new special mission, his second visit to North Korea in less than two weeks. According to the Yonhap news agency, citing Russian media, the trip was initiated by Vladimir Putin himself.
The essence of the Russian dictator’s order, as well as the details of Shoigu’s talks with Kim Jong-un, remain undisclosed. The visit takes place against the backdrop of the first anniversary of the strategic pact between Russia and the DPRK, signed in June 2024. After that, North Korea, according to Western intelligence, began to massively transfer artillery shells, missiles and other munitions to Russia, and – presumably – to provide “volunteers” to participate in the war against Ukraine.
Shoigu’s visits to the DPRK are becoming systematic: this is his third visit to Pyongyang in the last three months. This confirms Russia’s growing dependence on the isolated but militarised Kim regime, which has become an important rear partner of the Kremlin in the face of Western sanctions and the depletion of resources in the war with Ukraine.
Analysts see such visits as a threatening trend – not only for Ukraine, but also for regional security in Asia. The likely purpose of Shoigu’s current trip is to supply new weapons or coordinate joint actions against Western countries that support Kyiv.
