May 31 (Asia Today) -- North Korea and Russia are displaying a rapidly deepening strategic alignment as Pyongyang backs Moscow's war in Ukraine and Russia pushes back against international pressure over North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
The moves came as South Korea, the United States and Japan emphasized trilateral security cooperation at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
North Korea's state media said Sunday that Ri Chang-dae, director of the State Intelligence Service, attended an international security meeting in Russia on Thursday, marking his first publicly reported activity in the role.
Ri called for each country to strengthen its "self-defense capability" and expand "solidarity and cooperation" with related countries.
He also criticized what North Korea describes as double standards in international politics.
"North Korea is stockpiling and continuously strengthening the most powerful force to defend its own security," Ri said, adding that Pyongyang offers "full support and encouragement" to Russia's military and people as they defend what he called their sovereign rights and security interests.
Ri also met with Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia's Security Council, to discuss closer cooperation between the two countries' security and intelligence agencies.
At the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang, North Korean officials also attended a plaque-unveiling ceremony Friday honoring Aleksandr Matsegora, Russia's former ambassador to North Korea, who died last year.
Jo Yong-won, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, and Foreign....
