Russian Defense Minister, Intelligence Head, and Army Supply Chief Visit North Korea

Sergei Shoigu, Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, visited the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang. The delegation participated in the celebrations dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

Shoigu held talks with the Minister of Defense in the DPRK, during which, according to the official Telegram channel of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Shoigu stated the following:
“I gratefully accepted the invitation to visit Pyongyang, the capital of our friendly state. In the post-war period, our interaction was strengthened: calls of warships, official visits of high-ranking representatives of the defense departments, exchanges of delegations at the working level, training of personnel. All this contributed to the preservation of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.
North Korea is an important partner of Russia, with whom we share a common border and a rich history of cooperation.”

Source: https://t.me/mod_russia/28624
Then, Shoigu and the delegation laid flowers at the Liberation Monument. Korean Central Television showed footage of Shoigu’s visit to Kim Il Sung’s house-museum.

The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation left the following message there:
“The place of historical and revolutionary glory of Mangyondae is a clear evidence of the deep and sincere respect of the peoples of the DPRK for President Kim Il Sung, who created the first independent state on Korean soil and laid the foundation for friendly relations between our two countries.
We wish the peoples of the DPRK peace, prosperity and new successes in building a socialist state!”

Arm Expo

On July 27, the Russian delegation visited Arm Expo [‘무장장비전시회’ -Armed Equipment Exhibition]. The event is held in one of the building of ‘Three Revolutions Exhibition’ [3대혁명전시관] located at 39° 4’49.10″N, 125°45’27.23″E in Pyongyang. Arm Expo of 2021 was also held in the same building:

Last frame source: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1416090511763059

The satellite image above was taken in July 2022. Newer imagery shows the preparation for the Expo. Note the new pavement.

It’s the exact same location where the pictures of Hwasong-17 were taken in 2022:

The Delegation

On the photographs published by the North Korean newspaper ‘Rodong Sinmun’, one can identify some members of the Russian delegation, including Alexey Kryvoruchko – Deputy Minister of Defense, Alexandr Matsegora – Russian Ambassador to the DPRK and Igor Kostyukov – Head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU). GRU is the main foreign military intelligence agency of Russia.

A. Kryvoruchko is engaged in the purchase of weapons for the Russian Armed Forces. He takes part in the approval of all contracts of the Ministry of Defense.

A. Matsegora has been the Russian Ambassador to North Korea since 2014. In his latest press statements, he denied North Korea’s supply of munitions to Russia and noted that North Korea’s missile launches did not pose a threat to Russia.

Close-up of I. Kostyukov at the Expo.

Although, Kostyukov is dressed in the uniform of the Russian Navy, in fact he is the chief of the military intelligence of Russia. Kostyukov has been under US sanctions since 2016 for meddling in the elections, the UK sanctions since 2019 for storing, transporting and using chemical warfare agent “Novichok” in Salisbury, and under the sanctions of many other countries for being involved in inciting war in Ukraine. Previously was in the leadership of the Russian military operation in Syria.

North Korea showed to Russian delegation new drones and ICBMs including Hwasong-17 and Hwasong-18.