PYONGYANG, October 18. /TASS/. Nine diplomats and accompanying staff have arrived in Pyongyang as part of the staff rotation of the Russian Embassy in North Korea.

They arrived on a plane carrying Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, a Russian delegation and journalists accompanying the minister to Pyongyang. Two diplomats and two embassy staffers, including a doctor, are among the new employees of the diplomatic mission. Apart from that, a five-person construction crew which will be engaged in the reconstruction of the embassy building also arrived on the flight. The renovation was planned to take place a few years ago, but was hindered by the coronavirus pandemic.

During the flight, Lavrov approached the new embassy staff, talked to them and wished them success.

On September 7, the Russian Embassy in North Korea reported that it had doubled the amount of staff. Twenty people arrived in Pyongyang then, joining the 18 people already working at the embassy.

The Russian plane landed at Pyongyang airport on Wednesday evening. Despite heavy rain, the Russian minister was greeted at the airfield by about two hundred North Korean citizens in national garb holding flowers in their hands and waving them at the minister.

About a hundred North Korean officials met the Russian delegation at the airport. Furthermore, those accompanying the minister on his trip had their luggage disinfected by airport staff right as they stepped off the ramp.