North Korea's state media reported that a municipal delegation from the bordering Russian region Primorsky Krai arrived in the country on Monday.

According to the Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) on Tuesday, the group led by the region’s governor, Oleg Kozhemyako, was welcomed by Ji Kyong-su, the North's vice minister of external economic relations at Pyongyang International Airport as reported after a banquet at Koryo Hotel.

While the KCNA did not mention the objective of the Russian delegation's visit, Kozhemyako told a Russian media outlet last month that he planned to visit the North within the year to discuss cooperation in tourism, trade and agriculture.

It is speculated that the two sides could also discuss the deployment of North Korean laborers to Russia in defiance of United Nations sanctions against the regime banning such activity.

Pyongyang and Moscow have been seeking to enhance cooperation in trade, the economy, science and technology as well as sports following their leaders' summit in September.

An official from Seoul's unification ministry told reporters that the two countries are assumed to be proceeding with some type of cooperation, in reference to a recent series of events.

The official added that circumstances indicate that North Korean laborers are working in China and Russia, despite the UN sanctions.