Russian President Putin meets with North Korean foreign minister in latest high-level diplomacy - AP News

What the report says

Russian President Vladimir Putin met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at the Kremlin on Sunday, July 19, 2026, in another senior-level contact between Moscow and Pyongyang, the Associated Press reported, citing Russian state media. Putin thanked North Korea for backing Russia’s war in Ukraine, while Choe conveyed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un remains committed to expanding ties with Russia, according to Russia’s Tass news agency.

AP reported that Choe’s trip did not coincide with an obvious diplomatic gathering or anniversary, prompting speculation that it could be linked to preparations for a possible Kim visit to Russia. North Korean state media said Choe left for Russia on Saturday at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Choe and Lavrov also held separate talks Monday, with North Korea again supporting Russia over Ukraine and Moscow voicing support for North Korea’s security interests, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said Seoul was watching the meetings closely but did not offer an assessment on whether a new Putin-Kim summit was under discussion. Kim previously traveled to Russia’s Far East for meetings with Putin in 2019 and 2023. In June 2024, Putin visited Pyongyang, where the two leaders signed a strategic partnership agreement that included a mutual-aid pledge if either side is attacked.

The meeting matters because Russia and North Korea have deepened cooperation as both face confrontation with the United States and its allies. AP noted that Kim has prioritized relations with Moscow in recent years, including support for Russia’s Ukraine war, while also pursuing closer ties with China and refusing meaningful talks with Washington and Seoul since nuclear diplomacy collapsed in 2019.