N. Korean FM tells Lavrov ties reached 'new height' with Kim-Putin meeting in Beijing: report

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, right, departs Pyongyang for official visits to Russia and Belarus, Saturday, in this Korean Central News Agency file photo. Yonhap

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui highlighted last month's meeting between the North's leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing as an event that raised the bilateral ties to a "new height," Russian media reported Monday.

Choe made the remark at the talks with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow, referring to the two leaders' bilateral talks that took place when they visited Beijing on Sept. 3 to attend a military parade marking China's Victory Day.

Choe said the meeting was a "significant event that raised the entire previous strategic partnership between North Korea and Russia to a new height," according to Russia's RIA Novosti.

She was quoted as restating the North's continued support for Russia's "policy of upholding territorial integrity."

Choe also plans to meet Putin later in the day, according to the media.

Lavrov said that relations between Russia and North Korea have "received a powerful impetus" over the past 3 1/2 months, through the agreements reached at the leaders' level.

North Korea has deepened its relationship with Russia, signing a mutual defense treaty in June last year. Since October last year, North Korea has sent around 15,000 troops to participate in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Lavrov also said Russia will never forget the "heroic deeds performed" by North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region, which will "further strengthen the bonds of friendship" between the two sides, the Russian media reported.

The North's state media said earlier in the day Choe departed for Moscow on a two-nation swing that includes Belarus.

On board a private jet, Choe left Pyongyang International Airport the previous day to visit the two countries at the invitation of their foreign ministers, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

The KCNA first announced the two-nation trip Sunday without providing a detailed itinerary, while Russia's foreign ministry later disclosed that Choe's visit to the country will run from Sunday through Tuesday.

Her trip to Russia will mark her first in about a year. She last visited Moscow in November 2024 and paid a courtesy call on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Choe's overseas trip coincides with South Korea's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 in the southeastern city of Gyeongju.

Her absence from North Korea during the APEC period suggests that no talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump are likely to take place on the occasion of the global gathering.

As Trump departed for an Asia swing over the weekend, which includes a trip to Korea on the occasion of the APEC summit, he expressed a wish to meet Kim again.

Trump met Kim three times during his first presidential term, including summits in Singapore in 2018 and Vietnam in 2019.