Senior NK diplomat to hold bilateral, trilateral talks with Russian, Chinese officials in Moscow

North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Sun-hui is leaving the VIP room after she arrived at Sheremetyevo International Airport, Saturday. Yonhap

A senior North Korean diplomat will have talks with Russian and Chinese officials on the situation on the Korean Peninsula, following her arrival in Moscow on Saturday, Russian media reported.

Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui departed for Moscow earlier in the day following a two-day visit to Beijing.

Her trip comes ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's fourth visit to Pyongyang on Sunday for talks about Pyongyang's denuclearization and a possible second summit between the U.S. and the North.

Citing Russian embassy staff in the North, the news agency Tass said that Choe will have talks with her Russian counterpart on Monday and then trilateral talks with her Chinese and Russian counterparts the following day.

N. Korean vice foreign minister heads to Russia 2018-10-06 14:31  |  North Korea
Observers said that during the talks in Moscow, Choe is likely to seek cooperation from the North's traditional partner countries regarding ongoing denuclearization negotiations. She may also try to win support for Pyongyang's efforts to secure sanctions relief, they said.

While in Russia, Choe is also expected to discuss North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's possible visit to Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) confirmed that Choe held talks with her Chinese counterpart, Kong Xuanyou, in Beijing on Friday.

"During the bilateral talks, the two sides expressed their resolve to make active efforts to strengthen and develop the North Korea-China relationship to a higher level by upholding the will of the two countries' top leaders," the KCNA said.

"They exchanged in-depth views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula that has been positively developing due to North Korea's leading efforts and other international issues of mutual concern," it added. (Yonhap)