Overview

• Sergei Shoigu traveled to Pyongyang on June 4 under President Putin’s orders to hold high-level talks with Kim Jong-un.
• The meeting centered on implementing key provisions of the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed in June 2024.
• Leaders reviewed plans for North Korean troop support in Russia’s Ukraine campaign and arrangements to honor DPRK fighters.
• Shoigu’s visit follows his March trip to Pyongyang and a recent Moscow meeting with North Korea’s State Security Minister Ri Chang-dae.
• Analysts warn Russia has transferred rare defense technologies to North Korea in exchange for battalion deployments and arms supplies.