The Kremlin dispatched Russia’s spy chief to Pyongyang this week for talks with his North Korean counterpart, according to a rare state media disclosure, in a sign of deepening ties between the Cold War allies.
Sergei Naryshkin, who heads Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, held talks with North Korea’s State Security Minister Ri Chang Dae from March 25-27, the official Korean Central News Agency said on Thursday.
The pair briefed each other “on the present international and regional situation,” the KCNA said, “and widely and deeply discussed practical issues for further boosting cooperation to cope with the ever-growing spying and plotting moves by the hostile forces.”
It happened alongside working-level talks between intelligence officials from both sides, according to the report, which said the meetings “proceeded in a comradely and amicable atmosphere.”
Naryshkin is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, having previously served as Kremlin chief of staff before becoming the speaker of the Russian parliament’s lower house. He has been director of the external security service since 2016.
Foreign trips undertaken by senior intelligence officials typically are not publicized in real time unless for signaling purposes.
The Russian Foreign Ministry and North Korea’s Embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to separate written requests for comment.
ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images
Strategic ties between Moscow and Pyongyang go right back to the early days of the Cold War, when the Soviet Union became the first to formally recognize the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1948, later backing the North militarily during the Korean War.
Both Russia and North Korea remain heavily sanctioned, the former for its war in Ukraine; the latter for its nuclear and missile programs.
The United States and its allies have accused North Korea of supplying ballistic missiles and thousands of rounds of artillery to Russia for use against Ukraine’s forces—both governments deny the charge.
In exchange, South Korea’s intelligence suggests, the Kremlin has made good on its promise to assist the North’s reconnaissance satellite program and upgrade Pyongyang’s Soviet-era military hardware.
Senior U.S. officials said they were “deeply concerned” by Putin’s growing relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who was invited to tour Russia’s main spaceport last fall. Kim recently received a Russia-made limousine as a personal gift from Putin.
Beijing, which historically competed with Moscow for influence in Pyongyang, will be watching how far the strategic ties go.
North Korea and China are each other’s only defense treaty allies.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.