N. Korea's spy chief meets top Russian security official in Moscow

Sergei Shoigu, secretary of the Security Council of Russia, steps off his plane at Pyongyang International Airport June 17, 2025. Yonhap

The chief of North Korea's spy agency has attended an international security forum in Russia and held a meeting with the country's Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, the North's state media reported Sunday.

A delegation from North Korea's National Intelligence Agency, led by general director Ri Chang-dae, took part in an international meeting of high-level security representatives, the main event of an international security forum in Russia last Thursday, the Korean Central News Agency (KNCA) said.

In a speech to the assembly, Ri said "all countries should build up their own security capabilities (and) closely promote ... cooperation in the course of building a multi-polar world" to address the global security crisis, the KCNA said.

"The DPRK is stockpiling and steadily bolstering up its strongest strength," the KCNA also quoted Ri as saying, adding that the effort is aimed at "defending its own security and the genuine era of peace without war forever." DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The same day, Ri also held talks with Shoigu, during which they discussed strengthening bilateral security and intelligence cooperation to defend the "core interests" of their countries and address the global and regional security challenges, the KCNA noted.

The report indicates that the North has recently renamed the Ministry of State Security, which is responsible for dealing with dissident forces, as the National Intelligence Agency.

Ri traveled to Russia to attend a high-level international security conference in May last year and held talks with Shoigu. At that time, North Korean media referred him as state security minister.