As Mr. Trump prepared to visit South Korea, Mr. Kim sent his foreign minister, Choe Son-hui, to Moscow. After she met with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on Monday, the two nations issued a press statement reaffirming “their will to accelerate the multifaceted development of the bilateral relations.”

Kim Jong Un made the comments at the groundbreaking ceremony for a memorial for North Korean soldiers who fought for Russia in its war with Ukraine, state media said.