Putin's spy chief visited North Korea, Russian intelligence service says

FILE PHOTO: Russian and North Korean flags fly at the Vostochny Сosmodrome, the venue of the meeting between Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, September 13, 2023. Sputnik/Artem Geodakyan/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

MOSCOW/SEOUL (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin's foreign intelligence chief paid a visit to North Korea this week to deepen bilateral cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang and discuss broader regional security, Russia's spy service said on Thursday.

Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the main successor to the KGB's First Main Directorate, visited Pyongyang on March 25-27, the SVR said. North Korea's KCNA state media first reported the visit.