The number of North Koreans and Russians who traveled between the two countries skyrocketed in the first half of 2024, official data shows, as an uptick in tourism and delegation visits ahead of the Kim-Putin summit drove exchanges to highs not seen since before the pandemic.

A total of 2,508 North Koreans entered Russia from January to June this year, the most since over 2,000 visitors in the first half of 2020 but still below the average of roughly 5,000 per quarter before the pandemic, according to the latest data released by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).