PYONGYANG, March 19. /TASS/. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un puts much emphasis on the development of ties with Russia, the chairperson of the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries said at a reception marking the 66th anniversary of an agreement on economic and cultural cooperation between the two countries.
The people of North Korea "will invest effort towards the strengthening of friendship with Russia in accordance with lofty aims of Marshall Kim Jong Il," said Kim Jong Suk, marking that this year has been declared a Year of Friendship between the two countries.
The agreement on economic and cultural cooperation "became a major basis for building subsequent cooperation between our countries," Russian Ambassador to the DPRK Alexander Matsegora said at the reception organized by the North Korean side.
The underlying principles of this document have created "a lasting foundation for Russian-Korean interaction in different sectors," he added.
North Korea and Russia have declared 2015 a "Year of Friendship", which will be give a boost to political, economic and cultural exchanges, the Korean Central News Agency reported last week.
The two countries will hold "numerous joint events" this year, which marks the 70th anniversary of Russia’s victory in the Great Patriotic War and Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, it said.
This decision "was caused by their joint bid to achieve a higher level in political, economic and cultural relations," the news agency said.
The two countries would "boost exchanges of delegations and contacts between different organizations, including regional ones," the news agency said, noting also their plans to stage cultural events in the capitals Moscow and Pyongyang as well as in other cities.
The decision was approved in November 2014, when North Korean leader Jim Jong-un sent an envoy to Russia, and the two countries agreed to "organize joint large-scale festivities, as well as to give a boost to mutual visits," the news agency said.