North Korean FM Choe to visit Russia, Belarus: Report

Seoul, Oct 26 (IANS) North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui will visit Russia and Belarus at the invitation of the two countries' governments, the state media reported on Sunday.

The state media did not immediately disclose other details, including the exact dates for Choe's trip.

Her trip to Russia will mark her first in about a year, Yonhap News Agency reported. She last visited Moscow in November last year and paid a courtesy call on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Her trip to Russia comes amid growing speculation over whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will respond to US President Donald Trump's calls for another meeting between the two when Trump visits South Korea later this week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The announcement of Choe's visit to Russia, however, suggests that such a potential meeting may have become more unlikely.

Ahead of his Asia swing that includes trips to Malaysia and Japan, Trump reiterated his willingness to meet Kim "if he'd like to meet," saying that he's still "open" to meeting him again.

Observers see chances of the two leaders meeting as slim as the North has closely aligned with Russia in military ties, with its troop deployment to Russia in support of Moscow's war against Ukraine. Pyongyang has also been working to restore its relationship with China.

Kim, too, has expressed his openness to engaging with the US but only if Washington drops its demand for the North's denuclearisation.

Speaking to the press aboard Air Force One en route to Malaysia, Trump called the North "sort of a nuclear power" when asked about Pyongyang's position that it has to be recognised as a nuclear power to have talks with the US.

A senior US official said earlier that a meeting between Trump and Kim is not on the current schedule for Trump's Asia trip but added that "things can change."

--IANS

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