(Seoul) The head of Russian intelligence traveled to Pyongyang earlier this week to discuss security cooperation, North Korea’s KCNA agency said on Thursday, weeks after Seoul accused the North of having shipped thousands of containers of weapons to Moscow to support its invasion of Ukraine.
Director of Russian Foreign Intelligence (SVR) Sergei Naryshkin met with North Korean Minister of State Security Ri Chang Dae during his visit from Monday to Wednesday.
The officials discussed strengthening cooperation “to confront growing espionage and plots by hostile forces,” KCNA reported.
“The two parties reached complete consensus on the outstanding issues during the two talks which took place in an atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship,” according to the same source.
Both Russia and North Korea are subject to international sanctions: Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and Pyongyang for its nuclear weapons tests.
In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a summit in Russia’s Far East during which Mr. Kim said ties with Moscow were Russia’s “number one priority.” his country.
The United States later claimed that Pyongyang had begun supplying weapons to Moscow.
South Korea, for its part, declared in early March that North Korea had shipped around 7,000 containers of weapons to Russia for its war against Ukraine since the transfers began in July.
Pyongyang is seeking a range of military aid in return, such as satellite technology and the modernization of its Soviet-era military equipment, according to Washington.