Overview
- Lavrov will be in Pyongyang from July 11 to 13 after an official invitation from the North Korean Foreign Ministry.
- His itinerary is expected to include talks with Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and a courtesy call on leader Kim Jong Un.
- Discussions are set to finalise preparations for Kim’s anticipated visit to Moscow, following Putin’s invitation during his June 2024 trip.
- The visit builds on a mutual defense treaty signed in Pyongyang in June 2024 and recent deployments of North Korean specialists to Russia’s Kursk region.
- Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have warned that expanded military-technical cooperation risks violating UN sanctions while both governments insist their partnership reflects sovereign strategic interests.