Kim Jong-un, chairperson of North Korea's State Affairs Commission, visited the Russian Embassy in North Korea after offering condolences on the death of the Russian ambassador to North Korea.
On the 11th, the Korean Central News Agency reported that the chairperson paid a condolence visit to the Russian Embassy in North Korea the previous day to mourn Aleksandr Matsegora, the Russian ambassador to North Korea, who recently passed away.
According to the Korean Central News Agency, the chairperson said, "He was a capable diplomat who made an outstanding contribution to the history of DPRK-Russia (North Korea-Russia) friendly relations," adding, "It is truly heartbreaking to have lost the ambassador, a comrade."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the 8th (local time) that Ambassador Matsegora died on the 6th at age 70. The cause of death was not mentioned.
Ambassador Matsegora began his service in 1999 as first secretary at the Russian Embassy in North Korea, later serving as minister-counselor at the embassy, and was appointed Russian ambassador to North Korea in Dec. 2014.
From 2015, he held the post for 10 years and nine months, serving as the longest-tenured Russian ambassador to North Korea. As the highest-ranking Russian diplomat stationed in North Korea, he served as an important link between the two countries.
The agency said the chairperson also conveyed condolences to the bereaved family and embassy staff. North Korean media also carried a photo of the chairperson shaking hands with a woman presumed to be a family member of the deceased.
In addition to the chairperson, Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, Defense Minister No Kwang-chol, and Kim Song-nam, director of the Workers' Party International Department, along with other senior party and government officials, also visited the Russian Embassy that day to pay their respects.