North Korea and Russia have discussed ways to strengthen cooperation among their military-political organs, state media reported Friday, amid signs of the North's deployment of additional troops to aid Russia's war with Ukraine.
Pak Yong-il, vice director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, held talks with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Viktor Goremykin on Wednesday in Pyongyang, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
"At the meeting, both sides discussed ways to strengthen cooperation and exchanges between military-political organizations" amid deepening bilateral ties between the two countries, according to the report.
North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang-chol met with a Russian military delegation, led by Goremykin, the previous day and held talks in a "friendly atmosphere," the KCNA said in a separate dispatch.
Goremykin serves as the chief of the Main Military-Political Directorate of Russia's armed forces. It marked the first time that a Russian military brass with such a title has visited North Korea.
The visit came as South Korea's spy agency said Tuesday it had detected signs of North Korea conducting training and recruiting to brace for additional troop deployments to Russia.
The National Intelligence Service said around 5,000 North Korean construction troops have been moving to Russia since September and are likely to be mobilized for infrastructure reconstruction projects.
Since October last year, North Korea has sent around 15,000 troops and weapons to support Russia's war efforts. The NIS said in September around 2,000 North Korean troops were estimated to be killed during combat in Russia's Kursk region. (Yonhap)
