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What did Moscow's Pyongyang visit on 26 April 2026 signal?
Summary
A look back at the trip by Russia's defence minister and the State Duma chairman to North Korea, where a memorial to North Korean troops was inaugurated.
What did Russia's senior delegation achieve in Pyongyang on 26 April 2026? Defence minister Andrey Belousov and State Duma chairman Vyacheslav Volodin visited North Korea, inaugurated a memorial to North Korean troops who died fighting against Ukraine, and negotiated a new defence cooperation agreement.
The memorial honoured soldiers killed in the war against Ukraine, a public acknowledgement of North Korea's part in the conflict. The visit paired that ceremony with talks on a fresh defence cooperation agreement, which was set to run for several years.
Longer-running ties
North Korea's support for Russia in the war predates the visit by years. As the background to these events records, Pyongyang backed Moscow from 2017, when it recognised the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. In July 2022 it recognised the Russia-backed, self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, and Ukraine responded by severing diplomatic ties with North Korea.
The 26 April 2026 trip, with a defence minister and the head of the lower house of the Russian parliament travelling together, placed both military and legislative leadership at the ceremony and the negotiations.
