N. Korea's FM reaffirms stronger cooperation with Russia
This image provided by Yonhap News TV shows North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui. Yonhap
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has sent a congratulatory message to her Russian counterpart over Moscow's key national holiday and vowed stronger cooperation between the two nations, state media reported Tuesday.
In the message sent to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday on the occasion of Russia Day, Choe said Pyongyang and Moscow have ushered in a new "heyday" in their friendly relationship, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"Mutual cooperation and support in terms of bilateral and international affairs have become stronger than at any time," Choe was quoted as saying by the KCNA.
She also voiced confidence that the two nations will build stronger "strategic and tactical cooperation" in the diplomacy field for the development of the bilateral ties, according to the KCNA.
North Korea has expressed its support of Russia despite international condemnation over Moscow's war with Ukraine, amid allegations that Pyongyang has provided arms to Moscow for use in the war.
This photo, provided by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, shows members of the Russian Embassy in North Korea visiting the Liberation Monument and the grave of Russian soldiers in Pyongyang to mark Russia's key anniversary, Feb. 24. Yonhap
In North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's congratulatory message to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the holiday, he voiced his willingness to build closer ties with Russia by "holding hands firmly with the Russian President."
Russia Day is celebrated on June 12 to mark the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1990.
In what appeared to be a sign of their cooperation, Russia has resumed provision of refined petroleum to the secretive state for the first time in more than two years, according to data from the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions committee on the North.
Moscow's supply of refined petroleum to the North totaled 67,300 barrels between December last year and April, according to the data uploaded on the website of the committee.
It marked the first time since August 2020 that Russia officially supplied refined oil to the North.
Under the UNSC Resolution 2397 adopted in 2017, member countries' shipments of refined petroleum to North Korea were capped at 500,000 barrels per year. Member states providing such items to the North should report their monthly supply to the U.N.
While the North closed its border as part of rigid restrictions during the pandemic, it is believed to have procured oil through illegal ship-to-ship transfers. (Yonhap)