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Three Russian ministers visit North Korea, signal expanding high-level exchanges ahead of Kursk recapture anniversary

Published: 23 Apr. 2026, 11:37 Updated: 23 Apr. 2026, 11:48

A Russian delegation arrives at the Wonsan Kalma Airport in North Korea on April 22, as reported by North Korea's Rodong Sinmun on April 23. [NEWS1]

North Korea and Russia are dramatically expanding high-level exchanges, with three Russian ministers visiting the North at the same time, as they mark the first anniversary of the recapture of the Kursk region next week amid Moscow's war with Ukraine, according to Pyongyang's state media on Thursday.

Sectoral working-level meetings to boost North Korea-Russia cooperation and exchanges were held at a hotel in the Wonsan Kalma eastern seaside resort region the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The meetings brought together Russian Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov, who serves as the Russian chair of the bilateral committee on trade and economic cooperation; North Korean External Economic Relations Minister Yun Jong-ho; Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko; and North Korean Public Health Minister Kim Tu-won, among others.

Kozlov and Murashko also attended a ceremony the previous day to launch the construction of a hospital in the Wonsan Kalma tourist district, according to the KCNA.

Speaking at the event, Murashko said the hospital project is a clear example of the “unchanging development” of the two countries' friendship.

The KCNA described the construction as part of agreements reached at a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2024.

The two ministers arrived in North Korea the previous day at the invitation of the North Korean regime.

Russian Internal Affairs Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, left, shakes hands with Jo Yong-won, the chairman of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, on April 23 in this photo released by the North's Rodong Sinmun. [NEWS1]

Meanwhile, Russian Internal Affairs Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, who has been visiting Pyongyang since Monday, met with Jo Yong-won, the chairman of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, and paid tribute at a memorial honoring Russian soldiers killed while fighting for the North during the liberation of Korea from Japan, according to the KCNA.

The increased high-level exchanges between Pyongyang and Russia come as the two countries are set to mark the first anniversary of what Russia has described as the liberation of the Kursk region next week.

North Korea has announced that it will hold a ceremony marking the completion of a memorial museum dedicated to North Korean soldiers killed in the Russia-Ukraine war on the occasion of the anniversary.

While Russia declared the recapture of Kursk from Ukrainian forces on April 26 last year, North Korea proclaimed the victory the following day, with Russia speculated to have sent a high-level official to the completion ceremony.

Yonhap