Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu visits North Korea for high-stakes talks

In a strategic move directed by President Vladimir Putin, Sergey Shoigu, the Secretary of Russia's Security Council, touched down in North Korea on Tuesday, June 17. According to the Russian state agency Interfax, Shoigu is set to conduct negotiations with the North Korean leadership, including Kim Jong Un. The dialogue, which stems from an understanding forged during a previous visit on June 4, will pursue the goals outlined in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement signed on June 19, 2024.

This marks Shoigu's second visit to North Korea within a month — his prior visit took place on June 4. During that occasion, discussions with Kim centered on the conflict in Ukraine, specific points of the strategic partnership agreement, and the preservation of historical memory concerning North Korean fighters who served in the Kursk region.

Shoigu's earlier meeting with Kim in March highlighted a revival of dialogue between Moscow and Washington and tackled ongoing issues related to the Ukraine conflict. Kim Jong Un reiterated North Korea's unwavering support for Russia and affirmed commitment to the strategic partnership terms, which include providing Russia with weaponry and dispatching North Korean soldiers to assist in the Ukraine war.

Among the terms discussed, Kim pledged 11,000 troops to aid in expelling Ukrainian forces from Russia's Kursk region. North Korea has also supplied Russia with millions of Soviet-style artillery rounds, 170-mm Koksan howitzers, 122-mm D-74 guns, 60-mm and 140-mm mortars, 107-mm and 240-mm multiple rocket launcher systems, and KN-23 (Hwasong-11) missiles.

On the battlefield, recent sightings reported the use of cluster munitions in the 122-mm caliber for Grad rocket systems. Since September 2023, North Korea has shipped over 20,000 containers of military hardware to Russia. South Korean analysts have valued these assets at 20 billion dollars.