Russia and North Korea are set to hold intergovernmental discussions shortly on bilateral cooperation.
The countries have been growing closer since Russia invaded Ukraine. In September, the leaders of Russia and North Korea held their first summit in four years.
North Korea's state-run media said on Wednesday that a Russian government delegation arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday for talks on cooperation in trade, the economy, science and technology.
The English-language report quoted Russia's Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov, who is heading the delegation, as saying the two countries are "fighting shoulder to shoulder ... against the dominationist forces." The comment was an apparent reference to the US and its allies.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted a unification ministry official as saying the two sides are likely to discuss food aid from Russia to the North, and possibly the dispatch of North Korean workers to Russia.
The sending of workers would amount to North Korea obtaining foreign currency, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.