Russian President Vladimir Putin has met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui in Moscow as the two countries are expanding cooperation.

Putin and Choe held talks at the Kremlin on Tuesday. The Russian state-run television broadcast footage of a smiling Putin welcoming his guest.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and presidential aide Yury Ushakov were present at the talks.

Earlier in the day, Choe and Lavrov held a meeting and suggested that their countries will advance military and economic cooperation.

The Kremlin said the two ministers briefed Putin on the outcome of their meeting, but did not go into details.

Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin has been invited to North Korea and he is expected to make a visit when appropriate.

The two countries are at odds with the United States and its allies which accuse Russia of using North Korean ballistic missiles in its attacks against Ukraine.