A Russian delegation led by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu will visit North Korea this week, joining a Chinese delegation already announced as part of the first foreign visit to the communist country since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reported.

North Korea’s state broadcaster KCNA announced the visit of a Chinese delegation to Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of “Victory Day” in the Korean War.

The Chinese delegation will be headed by Li Hongzhong, a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China, who will take part in the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

North Korea closed all its borders in early 2020, including cutting off trade and diplomatic exchanges, due to fears about the spread of the coronavirus.

The situation has caused a food crisis unprecedented since the famine of the 1990s, but data on the scale of the disaster are limited by the extreme secrecy of Kim Jong-un’s regime.

North Korea calls “Victory Day” July 27, 1953, when the armistice that ended the Korean War was signed. Large-scale events are planned for this year’s anniversary.

North Korea is slowly opening up to the world after measures taken during the pandemic

China’s foreign ministry said on Monday it was “strictly” enforcing UN sanctions against North Korea after receiving a letter from the G7, the European Union and other nations urging Beijing to stop allowing Pyongyang to evade sanctions by using its territorial waters.

China’s exports to North Korea in June were 8 times higher than a year ago, when the coronavirus was spreading uncontrollably in the country under the leadership of Kim Jong-un, despite strict measures taken to contain it.

Regarding the visit of the Russian delegation, North Korea’s KCNA television did not provide additional details, but on Tuesday, in a press release of the Ministry of Defense of Moscow, it was reported that it “will take part in solemn events dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Korean people.”

The Russian ministry also said that the visit “will contribute to the strengthening of military ties and will become an important stage in the development of cooperation between the two countries.”

Apart from Russia and Syria, North Korea was the only country to recognize the independence of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics”, declared by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine last year, before they were annexed by Moscow in September.

The United States has accused North Korea of ​​supplying Russia with ammunition and other equipment for its war in Ukraine, a charge denied by both Moscow and Pyongyang.