The death of the Russian ambassador to North Korea

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Monday the sudden death of Russia’s ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, who had held his position for more than ten years, in light of the strengthening of the alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang in recent months.

The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed in a statement “deep regret” over the death of 70-year-old Alexander Matsegora on December 6, 2025, who spoke the Korean language.
The Russian Foreign Ministry did not provide details about the cause of death.

She pointed out that since the beginning of his career in the late 1970s, Matsegora has worked to strengthen economic and diplomatic cooperation between North Korea and the Soviet Union, and later Russia.

The ministry added, “Under his wise and sensitive leadership, many generations of diplomats and specialists in Korean affairs have evolved.”

Matsegora has served as Russia’s ambassador to Pyongyang since 2014, and the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that he was a “driving force” behind the “hard work over years” that led to the “current unprecedented level of relations” between Russia and North Korea.

The two countries are currently witnessing a rapid diplomatic, military and economic rapprochement.

The two countries have been linked to a joint defense agreement since 2024, which was signed after an official visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang.

In light of this, North Korea actively participated in the Russian war effort by providing thousands of soldiers between late 2024 and spring 2025 to confront Ukrainian forces stationed in a small part of the Russian border region of Kursk.

North Korea also supplies Russia with weapons and ammunition, according to South Korea, which suspects that Moscow is transferring sensitive military technologies to Pyongyang in return.