Putin Hosts North Korea's Top Diplomat in the Kremlin, Fueling Talk of a New Kim Jong Un Visit to Russia

President Vladimir Putin welcomed North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui to the Kremlin on Sunday, using the meeting to thank Pyongyang for its support of Russia's war in Ukraine and deepening a partnership that has grown into one of the most consequential alignments of the conflict.

Choe traveled to Moscow at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, departing Pyongyang on Saturday. She offered no public explanation for the trip, and the absence of any obvious occasion, no summit, anniversary or multilateral gathering, has fueled speculation that she may be laying the groundwork for a visit to Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

In remarks at the Kremlin, Putin praised the state of relations between the two countries and reiterated his "gratitude to the North Korean leadership and people" for backing his military campaign. Choe, in turn, told the Russian president that Kim remains committed to the "comprehensive development" of ties with Moscow, language that Pyongyang has used to signal an open-ended strategic embrace.

The warmth reflects how far the relationship has traveled since June 2024, when Putin traveled to Pyongyang and the two leaders signed a strategic partnership treaty pledging mutual assistance if either country came under attack. During that visit, Putin extended an invitation for Kim to come to Russia, a trip that has been anticipated ever since but not yet scheduled. Choe's Kremlin meeting has revived expectations that it could finally be arranged.

North Korea's contribution to the war has moved well beyond rhetoric. Pyongyang has dispatched thousands of soldiers to fight alongside Russian forces and shipped vast stocks of artillery ammunition and missiles, according to assessments by Ukraine, South Korea and Western governments. In exchange, analysts believe North Korea is receiving food, energy, hard currency and potentially sensitive military technology that could advance its weapons programs.

The tightening axis has alarmed officials in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo, who warn that the flow of expertise from Moscow to Pyongyang could accelerate North Korea's missile and nuclear ambitions while entrenching a bloc of nuclear-armed states openly hostile to the West. South Korean intelligence has warned that the technology transfers could shave years off Pyongyang's development timelines, and successive rounds of sanctions have done little to slow the cooperation.

For now, both governments appear content to advertise their solidarity, and Choe's visit served as the latest public display of a relationship that has become central to Russia's war effort and increasingly consequential for security across Northeast Asia.