Pyongyang Says Putin Might Visit N. Korea "At Early Date"

North Korea's state news agency KCNA reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed willingness to visit Pyongyang in the near future. This would be Putin's first visit to North Korea in 24 years, reflecting tightening cooperation between the two countries isolated by the West.

• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had mentioned that such a visit was on the cards before, but new reports note that Putin confirmed his intentions to North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui during the latter's visit in Russia last week.
• The Hankyoreh newspaper cited a "foreign affairs source" as noting that Putin "is expected to visit not too long after the [Russian] presidential election in March," albeit no such details have been officially made public yet.
• Putin's potential trip to the Korean peninsula comes on the back of tightening military cooperation between the two nations, with the DPRK supplying Russia with missiles and ammunition for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
• The strengthening of North Korea's relations with Russia has been paralleled by an increasingly assertive rhetoric towards the US and its regional allies, which - some have argued - sets the stage for a more hawkish foreign policy stance this year.