Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia's Security Council, met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the second time in less than two weeks during a visit to North Korea on Tuesday, Russian news agency Interfax reported.
Interfax quoted the Russian Security Council as saying that negotiations between Kim and Shoigu, who until last year was Russia's defense minister, had begun. It did not specify the subject of their talks.
Shoigu previously visited Pyongyang and met Kim on March 21 and June 4 this year.
Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a strategic partnership treaty last year, including a mutual defense pact.
North Korea sent thousands of soldiers late last year to help Russia expel Ukrainian troops from its western Kursk region. Confirming the deployment for the first time in April, Putin and Kim described the North Koreans who had fought for Russia as heroes.
British defense intelligence said this week that North Korean troops had suffered more than 6,000 casualties in Kursk. North Korea has not disclosed its losses.
The US and South Korea say North Korea has shipped ballistic missiles, anti-tank rockets and millions of rounds of ammunition for Russia to use against Ukraine. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied weapons transfers.
A Reuters investigation in April 2025 found that millions of North Korean shells had made their way to the frontlines in massive shipments by sea and then by train.
