Russia deputy foreign minister visits North Korea, KCNA says

A soldier stands at a North Korean military guard post flying a national flag, seen from Paju, South Korea, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

SEOUL — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko is visiting North Korea, North Korean state media KCNA said on Saturday.

His trip takes place following a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Ukraine war where thousands of North Korean troops have been deployed to support Russian forces, according to Ukrainian, U.S. and South Korean officials.

Rudenko has been involved in developing Russian ties with North Korea since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He was also a member of the Russian delegations at peace negotiations with Ukraine early in the war.

KCNA reported that the deputy minister had visited a landmark monument in the capital Pyongyang but did not provide further details.

More than 12,000 North Korean troops were in Russia, fighting against Ukrainian forces in the border region of Kursk, Dorothy Shea, then-deputy U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, told the U.N. Security Council in January.

U.S. President Donald Trump urged Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on Friday to spare Ukrainian troops that Russia is pushing out of the Kursk region, an appeal Putin said he would honor if they surrendered.

Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien.