Putin meets with North Korea envoy in Moscow

MOSCOW, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's envoy, Choe Ryong Hae, met Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Choe, one of the Supreme Leader's closest aides, arrived in Moscow on Monday for a seven-day visit during which he was expected to hold high-level talks with Russian officials on a number of issues.

According to Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, Choe had been charged with delivering a specific message from the Supreme Leader, although Peskov did not reveal any specifics.

Russian deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov spoke to ITAR-Tass on Monday about the projected agenda.

"First, it is the nuclear program, to be more precise, prospects of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Ryabkov said. "Second, it is security in northeastern Asia in a broader context. There are a lot of problems there... Apart from that, in focus there will be bilateral relations between Moscow and Pyongyang, which, as far as I understand, have had certain dynamics in the recent time."

The diplomatic trip comes as North Korea seeks to strengthen its bilateral relations with Russia amid cooling ties with China.

"Our government views the dispatch of Choe Ryong Hae to Russia as in line with (Pyongyang's) attempt to diversify its external relations," South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheoi said at a press conference earlier this week.