What did Moscow's Pyongyang visit of April 2026 involve?
A retrospective on the Russian delegation's trip to North Korea, reported in the days before 28 April 2026.
What was Moscow doing in Pyongyang as 28 April 2026 approached? As reported at the time, Russian defence minister Andrey Belousov and State Duma chairman Vyacheslav Volodin visited the North Korean capital on 26 April 2026, two days before that date.
During the visit, the two officials inaugurated a memorial to North Korean troops who died fighting against Ukraine. They also negotiated a new defence cooperation agreement between Russia and North Korea, which was reported as set to run for several more years beyond the visit.
The trip was part of North Korea's involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian war. North Korea had backed Russia since 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 Pyongyang.
