Star Metro - Russian delegations visit Pyongyang as Ukraine war deepens ties

Kim met Monday with Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov, who is leading a delegation focused on "cooperation in trade, economy, science and technology," the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

A delegation from a Russian military academy also arrived in the North Korean capital, KCNA said, without providing details about the visit.

The United States and South Korea have accused the nuclear-armed North of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine, with experts saying Kim was eager to gain advanced technology, and battle experience for his troops, in return.

Putin and Kim signed a strategic partnership treaty in June, during the Kremlin chief's visit to North Korea.

It obligates both states to provide military assistance "without delay" in the case of an attack on the other and to cooperate internationally to oppose Western sanctions.

Putin hailed the deal in June as a "breakthrough document".

Last week, Pyongyang said it had ratified a landmark defence pact with Russia, after Russian lawmakers voted unanimously in favour of the deal, which Putin later signed.

Noting the new treaty, Kim said his meeting with Kozlov was aimed at "further promoting" trade as well as "scientific and technological exchange," according to KCNA.

The North Korean leader added the two countries' relations "have reached a new strategic level".

In exchange for North Korea's sending troops, the West fears Russia is offering technological support that could advance Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.

The reclusive state recently fired a salvo of ballistic missiles and tested a new solid-fuel ICBM, while Washington has said North Korean troops have begun combat operations alongside Russian forces.

- Foreign policy realignment? -

Experts say Pyongyang could be using Ukraine as a means of realigning its foreign policy.

By sending soldiers, North Korea is positioning itself within the Russian war economy as a supplier of weapons, military support and labor — potentially even bypassing its traditional ally, neighbor and main trading partner, China, according to analysts.

Russia can also provide North Korea access to its vast natural resources, such as oil and gas, they say.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui recently visited Moscow and said her country would "stand firmly by our Russian comrades until victory day".

She called Moscow's offensive against Ukraine a "sacred struggle" and said Pyongyang believed in Putin's "wise leadership".

When asked publicly about the deployment of North Korean troops last month, Putin did not deny it, instead deflecting the question to criticise the West's support of Ukraine.

North Korea said last month that any troop deployment to Russia would be "an act conforming with the regulations of international law", but stopped short of confirming it had sent soldiers.

J.Campbell--SMC