DPRK special envoy leaves for Russia visit

The DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un's special envoy Choe Ryong Hae (L) shakes hands with Hwang Pyong So, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, as he and his delegation members leave the Pyongyang Airport in Pyongyang for Russia Monday, Nov 17, 2014. [Photo/IC]

PYONGYANG - Choe Ryong Hae, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau and secretary of the Central Committee of the Worker's Party of Korea, left here on Monday for a visit to Russia, the official KCNA news agency reported.

Choe will visit Russia as a special envoy of Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the state media said, without elaborating on the purpose of the visit.

Choe's entourage includes several senior officials such as First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan and Vice Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA) No Kwang Chol.

The senior officials seeing Choe off at the airport included Hwang Pyong So, director of the General Political Bureau of the KPA, and Alexandr Timonin, Russian ambassador to the DPRK.

Choe's eight-day visit to Russia is intended for discussions with the Russian side on bilateral relations and security conditions in the region, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

He will visit Khabarovsk and Vladivostok, Russia's Far East cities near the DPRK border, on his way back home from Moscow.

South Korean news media said, without citing sources, that Choe is likely to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during the visit.

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