North Korea’s top diplomat is in Moscow as Pyongyang sent troops to help the war on Ukraine

Russia’s top diplomat on Friday hosted his North Korean counterpart for talks amid reports that Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its military in the war in Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui’s visit to Moscow and her meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov came on the heels of the Pentagon’s statement that North Korea has deployed about 10,000 troops to Russia to fight against Ukraine within “the next several weeks.”

Western leaders have described the North Korean troop deployment as a significant escalation that could also jolt relations in the Indo-Pacific region.

Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang have specified the agenda for Choe’s talks in Moscow, but in a closed-door hearing at South Korea’s parliament, the South’s spy agency said Choe may be involved in high-level discussions on sending additional troops to Russia and negotiating what the North would get in return.

South Korean and Western officials have voiced concern that Russia may offer technology that could advance the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile program.

Meeting Choe in Moscow on Friday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hailed ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, saying that they “have reached an unprecedented high level over the past few years,” and proposed discussing the implementation of the strategic partnership agreement the two nations signed earlier this year.

“We will have discussions on a series of issues regarding politics and foreign policy as well as matters that require a joint response between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation,” Choe said, invoking the North’s formal name.

She reiterated Pyongyang’s support “for the just fight of