Russian, Chinese delegations to visit North Korea

North Korea will this week welcome Russia's defence minister and a high-level Chinese delegation to Pyongyang for Korean War armistice anniversary celebrations, state media has said.

"A military delegation of the Russian Federation led by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu will pay a congratulatory visit to the DPRK," the Korean Central News Agency said on Tuesday, a day after it confirmed a Chinese delegation would also attend the Thursday event.

Russia, one of Pyongyang's historic allies, remains one of a handful of nations that maintains friendly relations with the North, and its leader Kim Jong Un has recently been steadfast in his support for Moscow's offensive in Ukraine, including, Washington says, supplying rockets and missiles.

"This visit will contribute to strengthening Russian-North Korean military ties and will be an important step in the development of cooperation between the two countries," the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

China, North Korea's main trading partner, also confirmed Tuesday it would send a delegation led by Politburo member Li Hongzhong.

The foreign visitors are set to attend events in Pyongyang to mark 70 years since the signing of the armistice, known as Victory Day in the North, which KCNA said would be celebrated in a "grand manner that will go down in history".

A large-scale military parade is set to take place this week, with satellite images of months of training by soldiers and civilians, and the event will likely feature Leader Kim's biggest nuclear-capable missiles and military capabilities passing through Kim Il Sung Square, according to Seoul-based specialist site NK News.

Seoul, Washington monitoring

Seoul's defence ministry said Tuesday it had detected more "people and equipment" in the capital Pyongyang, adding that South Korean and US intelligence agencies were closely monitoring the North's upcoming celebration.

The visits by the Chinese and Russian delegations are the first known visits by any foreign delegations since the start of the pandemic.

North Korea has been under a rigid self-imposed coronavirus blockade since early 2020 to protect its elf from Covid-19, which has prevented even its own nationals from entering the country.

It only resumed some trade with China last year and allowed Beijing's new envoy to take up his position this year. Beijing said the delegation would travel to Pyongyang on Wednesday.

An armistice agreement ending Korean War hostilities was signed on July 27, 1953, but the two Koreas remain technically at war because the agreement was never replaced by a peace treaty.

"It is expected that North Korea will try to reap the benefit of Beijing condoning its nuclear development by unveiling a new ICBM when a Chinese high-level delegation attends its large-scale military parade," Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP. news agency.

"It seems that the intention is to show off the strengthening of solidarity between North Korea and China amidst the global political disruption caused by the ongoing US-China conflict."

He added that it could also be a sign that the border between the North and China might be reopened in the not too distant future.