North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday to discuss military cooperation and regional security, state media reported.
The meeting took place in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, as the country marked the 70th anniversary of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, which the North views as a victory over the U.S.-led forces.
According to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim and Shoigu reached a consensus on “matters of mutual concern in the field of national defense and security and on the regional and international security environment.”
KCNA also said Kim took Shoigu to an arms exhibition that showcased some of North Korea’s newest weapons and briefed him on national plans to expand the country’s military capabilities. Photos from the exhibition showed Kim gesturing while talking to Shoigu as they walked near a row of large missiles mounted on launcher trucks.
Shoigu handed Kim a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin, the report said. Kim in turn thanked Putin for sending a military delegation led by Shoigu, adding the meeting deepened the “strategic and traditional” relations between North Korea and Russia.