Russia’s Defense Minister will pay a three-day visit to North Korea from today

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Shoigu will participate in the commemorative events for the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice

July 25 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu will lead an official Russian delegation that will travel to North Korea on Tuesday to attend commemorative events for the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice (1950-1953).

The Russian Ministry of Defense has specified in a statement on its Telegram account that the visit will take place between July 25 and 27 and has specified that it takes place “at the invitation of the North Korean Ministry of Defense”.

“This visit will contribute to the strengthening of military ties between Russia and North Korea and will become an important stage in the development of cooperation between the two countries,” he said.

For its part, the North Korean state news agency, KCNA, has indicated that “a Russian military delegation led by its Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, will pay a visit to North Korea on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the victory in the great Homeland Liberation War.” “The visit will be an important occasion to further develop the traditional friendly relations to keep them up to the demands of the times,” he stressed.

The announcement comes a day after North Korean media indicated that Pyongyang had sent an invitation to China for the Asian giant to send a delegation to these events, in what is the first visit by foreign delegations to the country since the end of the pandemic.

Shoigu’s visit takes place in the midst of the war in Ukraine, unleashed in February 2022 by the invasion order given by Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the framework of which Pyongyang has transferred its support to Moscow. In addition, it comes at a time of increased tensions on the Korean peninsula due to the freezing of contacts to try to close a peace agreement, since the Korean War ended with an armistice, which means that both Koreas are still technically at war.