PYONGYANG, 11 March. /TASS/. North Korea and Russia have declared 2015 a "Year of Friendship", which will give a boost to political, economic and cultural exchanges, the Korean Central News Agency reports on Wednesday.
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 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.
The two countries would "boost exchanges of delegations and contacts between different organizations, including regional ones," the news agency said, noting also the 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.
The secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Choe Ryong-hae, also visited the Far Eastern cities of Khabarovsk and Vladivostok.