North Korean media say Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui has held talks with a visiting Russian senior diplomat.



The talks come as negotiations on a possible ceasefire in Ukraine are underway.



Sunday's edition of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported that Choe and other North Korean officials met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko one day earlier.



The paper said the two sides discussed strengthening cooperation under a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty and reached an agreement. The bilateral treaty calls on Pyongyang and Moscow to provide each other with military and economic assistance if either is attacked.



North Korea has sent troops to Russia to assist its invasion of Ukraine. A South Korean intelligence agency pointed out that the North in February deployed additional troops on the battleground in the western Russian region of Kursk, where Ukrainian forces are staging a cross-border incursion.



South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that the two sides may have exchanged views on North Korea's future deployment of troops.



The report said that the response to North Korean soldiers held captive by Ukraine may have also been on the table.