N. Korea's FM, Putin vow to strengthen bilateral ties ahead of Trump's visit to SK

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, right, pays a courtesy call on Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Tuesday, in this photo carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day. Yonhap

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and Russian President Vladimir Putin have reaffirmed their will to strengthen bilateral ties, the North's state media reported Tuesday, ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's trip to South Korea this week.

Choe paid a courtesy call on Putin in Moscow the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Choe departed Pyongyang on Sunday to visit Russia and Belarus, a trip that comes as Trump has voiced a wish to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his visit to the South on Oct. 29-30 on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering.

Choe and Putin "had good discussions over many businesses to strengthen and develop the North-Russia relations going forward," the KCNA said, without disclosing other details.

Putin asked Choe to deliver his "warm greeting" to the North's leader as the top North Korean diplomat conveyed Kim's best wishes to Putin, the report added.

Prior to the meeting with Putin, Choe held talks with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

In a press statement published by the KCNA, both sides had "constructive and useful" strategic communication on plans for mutual visits by high-level officials and cooperation for bilateral ties, as well as diplomatic coordination over major global issues.

"They had a consensus of views on all issues discussed," North Korea said, noting that the two diplomats reaffirmed a will to accelerate the development of bilateral ties in various fields.

North Korea expressed its support for all measures taken by Russia for the war with Ukraine, while Russia also voiced its backing for the North's efforts to defend its sovereign rights and interests, the KCNA said.

Russia's foreign ministry said Lavrov and Choe denounced the United States and its allies for escalating international tensions, including on the Korean Peninsula. But the press statement issued by North Korea did not make any mention of the U.S.

Choe's trip has drawn attention amid speculation over whether Trump may have a surprise meeting with the North's leader Kim on the Korean Peninsula.

But Choe's absence from Pyongyang appears to reinforce the view that the possibility of the Kim-Trump meeting grows slim, given her importance in handling diplomacy with the U.S.

During his first term, Trump held three in-person meetings with Kim — a summit in Singapore in June 2018 and another in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019, as well as a brief meeting in June 2019 at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas.