▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (2nd from L) talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) at the Vostochny Cosmodrome space launch center in the Russian Far East on Sept. 13, 2023, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) N Korea-Russia

(LEAD) Russia's foreign minister to visit N. Korea on Oct. 18-19: KCNA

(ATTN: ADDS more details throughout)

By Lee Minji

SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit North Korea later this week, Pyongyang's state media said Monday, as the two countries move to strengthen military ties amid speculation over their suspected arms deal.

Lavrov will "pay an official visit" to North Korea on Oct. 18-19 at the invitation of the North's foreign ministry, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a short dispatch, without providing further details.

The upcoming visit follows a rare summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sept. 13.

Lavrov is widely expected to meet with his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son-hui, to discuss ways to bolster bilateral cooperation, including preparations for Putin's possible reciprocal visit to Pyongyang.

Lavrov earlier said he plans to visit Pyongyang in October to discuss follow-up measures to the Putin-Kim summit. The Kremlin said last month that Putin had accepted Kim's offer to visit North Korea during the summit held at Russia's Vostochny spaceport.

The KCNA announcement came just days after the White House said Pyongyang has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia in recent weeks for use in Ukraine.

An official at South Korea's defense ministry on Monday confirmed the signs of the North's recent delivery of such containers to Russia by ship, noting it could amount to hundreds of thousands of artillery shells.

Seoul has condemned such revelations, saying that any illicit weapons trade with North Korea should be halted, as it would constitute a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions against the North's nuclear and missile programs.

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