A delegation from Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) visited North Korea to discuss international situations, including the Korean Peninsula, and to strengthen cooperation in the intelligence sector.
According to Rodong Sinmun, the delegation was led by Sergey Yevgenyevich Naryshkin, the head of SVR, who visited Pyongyang from the 25th to the 27th of this month.
During his visit to North Korea, Naryshkin met with Ri Chang Dae, the North Korean Minister of State Security. The Russian SVR delegation and workers from the Ministry of State Security also held working-level talks.
The newspaper reported that the meetings discussed practical issues to strengthen further cooperation in response to the increasing espionage schemes of hostile forces surrounding the Korean Peninsula and Russia with complete agreement of opinions.
While the newspaper did not disclose specific details, it appears that North Korea and Russia have engaged in information exchange on various issues, including the ongoing war in Ukraine, the recent terrorist attack at a Moscow theater, and the overall situation on the Korean Peninsula.
Although North Korea reported on the visit after the SVR delegation had returned, the fact that they publicly disclosed the visit of an intelligence agency, which is usually kept confidential, seems to demonstrate a high level of cooperation between the two countries to the outside world.
Meanwhile, the SVR delegation’s visit to North Korea is the first in 13 years since their last visit in May 2011. During that visit, the delegation met with Kim Jong Il, the Chairman of the National Defense Commission.