North Korea's foreign minister to pay 3-day visit to Russia

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - North Korea's foreign minister will pay a three-day official visit to Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

“On January 15-17, at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Choe Song-hui, will pay an official visit to the Russian Federation,” a ministry statement said.

The visit came as both Washington and Kyiv accused Russia of using North Korean missiles during attacks on multiple Ukrainian regions during the New Year holiday.

Last Wednesday, the US and its allies accused Russia of exploiting its role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to shield itself from the repercussions of its use of North Korean missiles and violating multiple council resolutions by "procuring arms or related materiel" from Pyongyang.

North Korea has been under a sweeping UN arms embargo since 2006. The sanctions have since been repeatedly tightened to include the import and export of nearly all types of weapons.