North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's special envoy embarked on an eight-day trip to Russia Monday, according to news reports, amid growing speculation that Pyongyang is in desperate need of Moscow's diplomatic and economic support.

Choe Ryong-hae, the Workers' Party of Korea secretary, left Pyongyang for Russia, accompanied by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, Vice Economy Minister Ri Kwang-gun, and No Kwang-chol, deputy chief of the General Staff of the North's military, the Associated Press and its television arm APTN reported. They have a bureau in the secretive nation's capital. The North's state media remained silent on Choe's departure.

Choe is widely expected to meet with President Vladimir Putin during his stay in Moscow.

The North Korean leader's dispatch of Choe, one of his closest aides, as his special envoy draws keen international attention, coming at a sensitive time for Pyongyang's diplomacy.

This week, a U.N. committee plans to vote on a resolution against North Korea for its human rights conditions. 

Co-sponsored by the European Union and more than 40 nations, it encourages the Security Council to refer Pyongyang to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Russia is a permanent member of the council with veto power.

Apparently, Pyongyang's traditional ties with Beijing are not as good as before.

The South Korean government believes Kim Jong-un seems to sending Choe to Russia in pursuit of closer bilateral ties to counter international pressure over its nuclear program and human rights abuses.

"Our government views the dispatch of Choe Ryong-hae to Russia as in line with (Pyongyang's) attempt to diversify its external relations," unification ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said at a press briefing.

It looks like the North is pushing for aggressive diplomacy, as the international community's cooperation deepens against North Korea's nuclear ambitions and human rights record, he added.

He was cautious, however, about the specific purpose and expected results of Choe's visit, which Seoul regards as "unusual."

Experts here said North Korea may be seeking summit talks with Russia.

"If Choe Ryong-hae meets President Putin, key agenda items will likely include a visit by Kim Jong-un to Russia or a trip by Putin to North Korea as well as ways to cooperate in the U.N. against pressure from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan over the human rights issue," said Cheong Seong-chang, senior researcher at the Sejong Institute in Seoul.

Chances are slim that Kim will be able to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in the near future as Beijing is disturbed by Pyongyang's repeated provocative acts, added Cheong.

Announcing Choe's trip last week, the North's state media did not elaborate on his mission.

Russia said later that three main issues would be discussed -- ways to make the Korean Peninsula nuclear free, security conditions in Northeast Asia and bilateral relations.

Choe, who doubles as a member of the party's central committee political bureau presidium, is one of the closest aides to Kim. He is known to be the second or third-most powerful leader in the communist regime after Kim.

Choe also plans to travel to Russia's far eastern cities of Khabarovsk and Vladivostok before returning to Pyongyang next Monday, according to the Russian government. (Yonhap)