North Korea: Kim Pledges To Fulfil Agreements Made With Russia

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has expressed his resolve to fulfil agreements made at his summit last month with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he met visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, state media KCNA reported on Friday.

Kim took a rare trip to Russia last month during which he invited Putin to Pyongyang and discussed military cooperation, including over North Korea’s satellite programme, and the war in Ukraine.

Kim and Lavrov discussed ways to ramp up cooperation to actively respond to regional and global issues based on “solid political and strategic trust relations,” and Lavrov conveyed Putin’s greetings to Kim, KCNA said.

Kim pledged to “work out a stable, forward-looking, far-reaching plan for the DPRK-Russia relations in the new era by faithfully implementing the agreements … and push forward with the cause of building a powerful State,” KCNA said.

He was referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Lavrov signed a plan for exchanges in 2024-25 as they held separate talks to follow up on the summit and explore greater cooperation on the economy, culture and advanced science and technology, KCNA said.

The two diplomats also discussed how to place bilateral ties “on a higher stage,” it said.

REUTERS