Russian Long-Serving Envoy To North Korea Dies

Russia’s long-serving ambassador to North Korea, who spent decades working in the reclusive state and recently oversaw a boom in Moscow-Pyongyang ties, died over the weekend, Moscow said Monday.

North Korea has become one of Russia’s closest allies during Moscow’s Ukraine offensive, with Pyongyang sending troops and weapons to help fight Kyiv.

The Russian foreign ministry said Alexander Matsegora, who dedicated much of his life to boosting ties between the Kremlin and Pyongyang, died aged 70 on December 6.

In a statement, it called Matsegora a “brilliant, talented man” who “devoted his entire life to selfless service to his homeland”.

Matsegora became ambassador to Pyongyang in 2014, having previously served as advisor at the embassy and as deputy head of the Russian foreign ministry’s Asia department.

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He recently saw relations between the neighbours massively warm to levels unseen since the Soviet era, with President Vladimir Putin visiting Pyongyang in 2024 for the first time in more than 20 years.

Since then, Russian ministers have made regular trips to one of the world’s most secretive countries.

“The unprecedented level of relations between the Russian Federation and the DPRK (North Korea) achieved today is the result of many years of hard work,” the Russian ministry said, adding that Matsegora enjoyed “deep respect” in both North Korea and Russia.

During the Soviet period, Matsegora had worked on trade ties between the USSR and North Korea.

Moscow did not say who will replace Matsegora.