Seoul, Dec 13 (EFE).- The North Korean regime and a Russian delegation visiting the country have held a meeting to try to strengthen economic and regional cooperation, state media reported on Wednesday.
North Korean Minister of External Economic Relations, Yun Jong-ho, and Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of the Primorye region in the Russian Far East, met in Pyongyang on Tuesday and discussed “issues of putting the inter-regional economic cooperation between the two countries on a higher stage,” state news agency KCNA reported.
Although KCNA did not provide more details about the meeting, experts believed that this visit might be aimed at negotiating new shipments of North Korean workers to mining or logging operations in the Russian Far East, something that the UN Security Council banned through sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.
The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) on Wednesday warned that it had information about the imminent sending of North Korean workers to Russia.
The salary in foreign currency of these workers, who live in conditions of semi-slavery, mostly ends up in the regime’s coffers.
The Russian delegation led by Kozhemyako arrived in North Korea on Monday, signaling a new sign of the recent rapprochement between the two countries.
In September, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit in the Amur region to cement cooperation and exchange agreements in the military field.
Seoul and Washington accuse North Korea of delivering millions of artillery rounds and perhaps even short-range missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine.
They also believe that Pyongyang was advised by Moscow in its successful launch of its first spy satellite into orbit at the end of November.
In November, both countries also signed a protocol to increase cooperation in trade, science, and technology.
After the failure of denuclearization negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington in 2019, Pyongyang approved a weapons modernization plan in 2021 and since then, has carried out many missile tests, in addition to rejecting the resumption of dialogue and seeking closer ties with Beijing and Moscow. EFE
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