Russia's Putin meets North Korea's top diplomat in Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia Jul 19, 2026. Sputnik/Alexander Shcherbak/Pool via REUTERS

Russia's President Vladimir Putin met North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at the Kremlin on Sunday, thanking her for help in what Moscow calls the special military operation, the Kremlin said.

North Korean troops helped Russia repel a major Ukrainian incursion into its western Kursk region in 2024.

Under a mutual defence pact between the two countries, North Korea sent some 14,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russia in Kursk.

Ukrainian forces smashed across the border in August 2024 and held on to substantial pockets of territory for months.

Choe said in the meeting that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had recently reaffirmed the Asian nation's commitment to the comprehensive development of relations with the Russian Federation, according to the Kremlin.