A few days after Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a Russian military aircraft flew to Pyongyang. However, this flight has not yet been mentioned by Russian and North Korean state media.

This information was published by NK News, citing its own analysis of flight tracking data and satellite images. Analysts suggested that an agreement on military cooperation was signed during the meeting between Kim Jong-un and Shoigu.

According to an analysis conducted by NK News journalists using satellite imagery from Planet Labs, an aircraft similar in appearance and size to an Il-62 was spotted near the terminal of Pyongyang International Airport at 11:28 am on 2 August.

The Russian plane departed Pyongyang after 21:00 Chinese time on 2 August, indicating that the aircraft had been on the ground for approximately 36 hours.

The plane is a VIP passenger aircraft used for military delegations. Given the type of aircraft, it is likely that the visit did not involve the receipt or delivery of major weapons systems, although the possibility of some form of transfer of goods or payments cannot be ruled out.

As a reminder, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who arrived on 25 July on a visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, called the DPRK an "important partner" with a common border and a "rich history of cooperation". He stated Moscow's desire to strengthen defence cooperation with Pyongyang.

Together with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Shoigu also inspected nuclear ballistic missiles, which are banned by UN Security Council resolutions, incidentally adopted with the support of Russia and China.

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