Belarus’ foreign minister is set to visit North Korea this week, as announced by both countries on Monday. The trip is expected to focus on discussions of trilateral cooperation involving Russia in light of their separate confrontations with the West.
Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov will arrive in North Korea on Tuesday for a three-day visit at the invitation of the North Korean Foreign Ministry, as reported by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency in a brief statement. Belarus’ Foreign Ministry also confirmed his planned trip with a similar statement.
Details of Ryzhenkov’s itinerary in North Korea have not been provided by either country, but it is anticipated that he will meet with his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui. This visit would mark the first time a Belarusian foreign minister has traveled to North Korea, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry.
According to Koh Yu-hwan, a former president of South Korea’s Institute for National Unification, Ryzhenkov’s meetings with North Korean officials are likely to focus on establishing trilateral partnerships involving North Korea, Belarus, and Russia. Recently, North Korea and Russia signed a significant defense pact, while Belarus has longstanding close ties with Russia.
In a meeting in June, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a deal for mutual military assistance in the event of an attack on either country.
The United States, South Korea, and their allies have accused North Korea of supplying conventional arms to Russia for its involvement in the war in Ukraine in exchange for military and economic support. Both North Korea and Russia have denied these allegations.
Belarus’ President Aleksandr Lukashenko allowed Russia to use Belarus as a staging ground for the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Additionally, in 2023, Russia deployed some of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.
These three countries are facing Western sanctions and increasing international isolation – North Korea due to its nuclear program, Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, and Belarus for its role in supporting the Russian invasion and its controversial 2020 election, as well as human rights violations.
During a meeting with Putin in Sochi last September, Lukashenko proposed the idea of Belarus joining Russia and North Korea in a three-way cooperation agreement.
In April, the vice foreign ministers of North Korea and Belarus met in Pyongyang and agreed to enhance high-level contacts and visits, as reported by North Korea’s state media.