MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. Sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council do not prevent Russia and North Korea from strengthening bilateral relations, which are now on the rise, Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora said in an interview with TASS.

"As for the impact of UN Security Council sanctions on bilateral political relations, I would say firmly: they have no effect," the diplomat said.

Speaking about sanctions as a factor that could hamper economic cooperation between Russia and North Korea, Matsegora explained that Moscow and Pyongyang "assume that they will be in effect, if not forever, then for a very, very long time." "So if we focus on the sanctions imposed on us and them, as they say, from all sides, we may lose sight of interaction in practical areas. It would be wrong, it should not be like that," the Russian ambassador said.

He recalled that since the cooperation projects under the Soviet Union, the economies of the two nations have generally complemented each other, and there are many areas where the Russian Federation and North Korea can and should cooperate. According to the ambassador, political relations between Russia and North Korea are currently on the rise.

At the same time, he noted that the idea of including North Korea in joint drills of the Russian and Chinese militaries seems appropriate, adding that this was his personal opinion and that he was not aware of any such preparations.