Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui during a meeting in Moscow on Sunday, in this pool photo distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik. (AFP-Yonhap) North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Sunday, underscoring deepening ties between Pyongyang and Moscow and fueling speculation that the two sides are making final preparations for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's long-anticipated visit to Russia.According to Russian state media outlet TASS on Monday, Putin received Choe during her official visit to Russia, a day after she arrived in Moscow at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.During the meeting, Putin asked Choe to convey his greetings and best wishes to Kim, while saying he highly values "the mutual understanding on all issues and friendly relations" they have built over the years.The Kremlin also said Putin thanked the North Korean leadership once again for its support of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.Choe, in turn, conveyed Kim's greetings to Putin and reaffirmed Pyongyang's commitment to strengthening bilateral ties under the treaty signed by the two leaders in June 2024."The unwavering and consistent position of our republic's government is to continuously develop and strengthen our relations on the basis of the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," Choe said, according to TASS.She added that North Korea would continue to support Russia's efforts to defend its sovereignty, security interests and territorial integrity, as well as "address the root causes of the crisis in Ukraine."The meeting comes amid growing expectations that Kim could visit Russia later this year for another summit with Putin. The Russian president invited Kim to visit Russia during his trip to Pyongyang in June 2024, but a return visit has yet to take place.Choe's visit marks her first trip to Russia in about nine months since October 2025. During that visit, she traveled to Moscow before attending a security forum in Belarus.Observers say the timing of the trip suggests Pyongyang is prioritizing preparations for another North Korea-Russia summit.However, Seoul remained cautious on such conjecture. When asked about speculation that Choe's visit was made to coordinate Kim's trip to Russia, Unification Ministry spokesperson Yoon Min-ho said only that the government was closely monitoring developments."Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui is visiting Russia at the invitation of the Russian foreign minister, and according to Russian reports, she met with President Putin on July 19," Yoon said during a regular briefing on Monday. "As for the agenda you mentioned, nothing has been made public yet, so we will continue to monitor the situation."Although Choe's visit comes ahead of ASEAN-related foreign ministers' meetings, where the foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, Japan and China are all expected to gather, many experts believe Pyongyang's focus is on coordinating exchanges between the two countries' top leaders rather than on the regional diplomatic meetings.Kim and Putin first met at Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome in September 2023. During Putin's visit to Pyongyang in June 2024, the two leaders signed the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, after which North Korea deployed troops to support Russia's war in Ukraine. They later met again in Beijing in September 2025 on the sidelines of commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.With Putin having already visited North Korea, analysts say it is now Kim's turn to travel to Russia. A summit could take place on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok this September, although a separate visit to Moscow is also possible.If held, the summit would allow Pyongyang to demonstrate successive summit diplomacy with both China and Russia, highlighting its increasingly close ties with its two traditional partners.Putin's public expression of gratitude for North Korea's military assistance in Ukraine has also fueled speculation that Moscow could seek additional support from Pyongyang as the war continues.