North Korean Foreign Minister on three-day visit to Moscow

(Patria) - The Foreign Minister of North Korea is visiting Russia for three-day talks, as international concern grows over an alleged arms cooperation agreement between the two countries, AP reported.

The delegation, led by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, arrived in Moscow on Sunday, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency reported. She will meet with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov today, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Choe is visiting at Lavrov's invitation, the ministry said. The United States and South Korea say North Korea has provided Russia with weapons, including artillery and missiles, to help it in its fight in Ukraine.

The Biden administration said it has evidence that missiles supplied by North Korea to Russia have been used in Ukraine. In a joint statement last week, the US, South Korea, and their partners said the missiles support Russia's war, while North Korea receives valuable technical and military insights in return.

Koo Byoungsam, a spokesperson for South Korea's Unification Ministry, said they are closely monitoring Choe's visit to Russia. He accused North Korea and Russia of "maintaining illegal cooperation activities, including arms exchanges" following North Korean leader Kim Jung Un's visit to Russia in September, where he met with President Vladimir Putin. Koo did not give a concrete answer to the question of whether Choe might be arranging Putin's visit to North Korea.

Both Russia and North Korea have denied accusations of transferring North Korean weapons to Russia.