Moscow: The chief of North Korea's spy agency, Ri Chang-dae, has attended an international security forum in Russia and held a meeting with the country's Security Council Secretary, Sergei Shoigu, as reported by North Korea's state media on Sunday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, a delegation from North Korea's National Intelligence Agency, led by general director Ri Chang-dae, participated in an international meeting of high-level security representatives, which was the main event of an international security forum in Russia last Thursday, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

During a speech at the assembly, Ri emphasized the importance of countries building their own security capabilities and promoting cooperation to address the global security crisis. "The DPRK is stockpiling and steadily bolstering up its strongest strength," KCNA quoted Ri, noting the effort aims to defend its security and achieve a genuine era of peace without war.

Ri also engaged in discussions with Shoigu on the same day, focusing on strengthening bilateral security and intelligence cooperation to defend the "core interests" of their countries and address global and regional security challenges, according to KCNA.

The report highlights that North Korea has recently renamed the Ministry of State Security, which deals with dissident forces, to the National Intelligence Agency. Ri previously traveled to Russia for a high-level international security conference in May last year, where he also held talks with Shoigu. At that time, North Korean media referred to him as the state security minister.