Andrei Belousov has arrived in Pyongyang for talks with military and political leaders, the Russian defence ministry said. It comes after thousands of North Korean troops were dispatched to join Russian forces in combat against Ukraine.

The visit came days after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with a Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and called for the two countries to formulate unspecified countermeasures in response to North Korea’s dispatch of thousands of troops to Russia in support of its war fighting against Ukraine.

Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov arrived in Pyongyang for talks with North Korean officials, stoking concerns over a further deepening of military cooperation between the two countries.