North Korea’s top intelligence official, Ri Chang Dae, Minister of State Security, has visited Russia. Minister Ri is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Sergey Shoigu, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
The state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported that Minister Ri departed Pyongyang on Monday to participate in the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues, which is currently underway in Russia.
Previously, the Russian Security Council announced that the 13th International Security High-Level Representatives Meeting, chaired by Secretary Shoigu, would be held in Moscow from May 27 to 29. During this period, Shoigu is set to conduct bilateral talks with high-ranking representatives from North Korea, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Thailand, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Algeria.
It’s unusual for intelligence chiefs’ movements to be publicly disclosed. North Korea’s announcement of Minister Ri’s visit to Russia appears to be a deliberate move to showcase the particularly close relationship between Pyongyang and Moscow.
North Korea had previously reported on Minister Ri’s meeting with Sergey Naryshkin, Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, during Naryshkin’s visit to Pyongyang in March last year.
This meeting is expected to draw attention to potential discussions on further troop movements or prisoner-of-war issues following the recent deployment of North Korean forces. Both North Korea and Russia confirmed the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia at the end of last month.
In a related development, the newspaper also reported that a Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs delegation, led by Deputy Minister Vitaly Shulika, arrived in North Korea on Monday. DPRK Vice Minister of Public Security Ri Song Chol greeted them.