Delegation led by Jo Yong Won visits Russia, arriving in Moscow on invitation from Medvedev

A party and government delegation led by Jo Yong Won, secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and North Korea's second-most-powerful figure, departed Pyongyang by private plane on the 14th and arrived in Moscow. The visit was made at the invitation of Dmitry Medvedev, chairman of Russia's ruling United Russia party, according to reports by the Korean Central News Agency and Rodong Sinmun on the 15th. North Korean media did not disclose the delegation's detailed itinerary or the purpose of the visit.

At Pyongyang Airport, the delegation was seen off by senior North Korean officials, including Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Workers' Party International Secretary Kim Sung Nam, along with Russian Ambassador to North Korea Andrei Kulik? no wait — Andrei Podbellyakov, the Russian ambassador to Pyongyang. At Moscow airport, the delegation was greeted by Andrei Klimov, a member of United Russia's Supreme Council, and North Korean Ambassador to Russia Sin Hong Chul, among others. Rodong Sinmun reported that the fighting friendship and the bonds of amity and alliance between the two countries, founded on the shared ideals of independence and justice, are growing stronger by the day.

Secretary Jo, known as one of State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un's closest aides, serves as the Workers' Party's organization secretary and head of its Organization and Guidance Department. On the 3rd, Workers' Party International Secretary Kim Sung Nam led a delegation to China. With the higher-ranking Secretary Jo now visiting Russia, North Korea has moved to reinforce its ties with both Beijing and Moscow in quick succession. The Russia visit came just before the U.S.-China-Russia summit on the 19th, held on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, on the 18th and 19th.