SEOUL, Dec 11 — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and senior officials visited the Russian embassy to pay their respects following the death of Moscow’s longtime envoy, state media reported today.
SEOUL, Dec 11 — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and senior officials visited the Russian embassy to pay their respects following the death of Moscow’s longtime envoy, state media reported today.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the visits took place on Wednesday, underscoring the increasingly close relationship between Pyongyang and Moscow since Russia launched its war in Ukraine.
Russia announced on Monday that its ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, had died over the weekend at the age of 70.
KCNA said Kim laid flowers at the embassy and observed a moment of silence in honour of Matsegora.
It also reported that other high-ranking officials — including top military leader Pak Jong Chon — had made separate condolence visits.
Matsegora had served as Russia’s envoy to North Korea since 2014, following earlier roles as an advisor at the embassy and deputy head of the Russian foreign ministry’s Asia department.
During his tenure, ties between the two countries strengthened significantly, reaching levels not seen since the Soviet era. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang for the first time in more than 20 years.
At the embassy, Kim expressed “deep sorrow and great loss… to lose the ambassador at a time when an important historic phase has been opened in the development of the relations between the two countries,” KCNA said. – AFP
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