North Korean official meets Laotian President

Bounnhang Vorachith (second from right), general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and president of Laos, inspects Saysettha Comprehensive Development Zone in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, March 7. Xinhua-Yonhap

A senior North Korean official met Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachith and discussed expanding ties between the two countries, Pyongyang's state-run media said Saturday.

Ri Su-yong, who is in charge of international affairs at the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), arrived in Laos, Wednesday, after spending a day in Beijing for a layover on his way to the Southeast Asian country.

"Bounnang Vorachith expressed full support for the efforts made by the WPK and the government of the DPRK for the building of a powerful socialist country and peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the world," Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency said.

North Korean ruling party senior leader Ri Su-yong, part of a visiting delegation led by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, visits the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 1. AP-Yonhap

DPRK is the acronym for North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The meeting was held Thursday.

Pundits said the visit appeared aimed at bolstering friendly ties between the WPK and its Lao counterpart, the People's Revolutionary Party. (Yonhap)