Key Points

Shoigu visited North Korea on a special mission from Russian President Vladimir Putin and is expected to meet with Kim.

It marks Shoigu's second visit to North Korea this month, following his previous trip in early June, during which he also met with Kim and discussed security issues involving the Korean Peninsula.

Russian news agency TASS quoted the Russian Security Council as saying that Shoigu's upcoming meeting with Kim is part of the agreements reached during his previous visit to North Korea on June 4, adding that it is a follow-up to the mutual defence agreement signed last year between North Korea and Russia.

Shoigu's back-to-back visit to North Korea comes as Pyongyang and Moscow mark the first anniversary of the signing of the treaty on their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in June last year in Pyongyang by Kim and Putin, which resulted in North Korea's deployment of troops on the Russian side in the war against Ukraine, Yonhap news agency reported citing the TASS report.

The approach of the June 19 anniversary has fueled speculation that Kim may visit Russia for a summit with Putin, although no signs of his immediate trip have been reported.

The visit by Shoigu is the third in nearly three months as the two countries rapidly advanced diplomatic and security ties in the past two years, including North Korea's military support for Russia in the war against Ukraine.

Earlier on June 4, Russia's Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu arrived in Pyongyang to hold a meeting with leader Kim Jong-un.

Shoigu had travelled to the North on instructions from President Vladimir Putin and is scheduled to meet with Kim, the Russian news agency Tass reported.

Amid stringent international sanctions, North Korea has turned to Russia for resources and cooperation and is believed to have received rare defence technologies to advance its nuclear and missile arsenals in exchange for troop deployment and arms supplies.

- IANS