North Korea's foreign minister leaves for Russia, embassy in Pyongyang says

Reuters:  North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui has flown to Russia to attend the fourth Eurasian Women's Forum and the BRICS Women's Forum in Saint Petersburg, Russia's embassy in North Korea said on Monday.

"Russian Ambassador (Alexander Ivanovich) Matsegora saw off North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at the Pyongyang International Airport," the embassy said in a post on its Vkontakte social network.

The embassy said that the minister's speeches and participation in discussions are planned at the forum, which will take place Sept. 18 to 20.

Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, said in June that delegations from almost a hundred countries were expected at the forum.

"We will strive to ensure a record foreign representation in the entire history of the Forum," Matviyenko said in June, according to a transcript provided on the Council's website.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has attended previous meetings of the forum, but the Kremlin is yet to announce his participation in this year's forum.

Warming ties between the countries reached a new high this year when Putin signed a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that included a mutual defence pledge during a visit to Pyongyang.

The United States and its allies have accused North Korea of helping Russia by supplying weapons for its war in Ukraine in return for economic and other military assistance. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied this.