Key facts
- Jo Yong-won is secretary of the Central Committee of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party.
- The delegation was invited by Dmitry Medvedev, chairman of Russia's ruling United Russia party.
- Andrei Klimov, a member of United Russia's Supreme Council, and North Korean Ambassador to Moscow Sin Hong-chol greeted the delegation at the airport.
- KCNA said the visit comes as relations of alliance between North Korea and Russia are being further cemented.
Jo Yong-won, secretary of the Central Committee of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, arrived in Moscow by private plane on November 14, 2026, leading a party and government delegation, the Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch dated November 15, 2026. Yonhap described Jo as considered to be one of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's closest aides.
The delegation was invited by Dmitry Medvedev, chairman of Russia's ruling United Russia party. Andrei Klimov, a member of the party's Supreme Council and first vice chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, greeted the delegation at the airport, along with North Korean Ambassador to Moscow Sin Hong-chol.
KCNA said the visit comes at a time when the friendship and relations of alliance between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation are being further cemented. Yonhap reported that the trip follows North Korea's deployment of troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine.
Speculation that Kim could visit Moscow this year surfaced when North Korea's foreign minister made a surprise visit to Russia in July, Yonhap reported. Jo's trip comes days before US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China.