PYONGYANG, October 9. /TASS/. North Korea has enhanced bilateral engagement with Russia after the summit meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held in Vladivostok last April, North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Im Chon Il said on Wednesday.
The North Korean senior diplomat spoke at a reception at Russia’s embassy in Pyongyang marking the 71st anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the Soviet Union and North Korea, or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
"After the historic summit, the DPRK and the Russian Federation have boosted exchanges of high-level delegations and bilateral contacts in a wide range of fields, namely in politics, the economy, culture and defense," Im Chon Il said. "Practical steps and measures are being taken to achieve real results in the implementation of the agreements reached at the summit."
According to the North Korean deputy foreign minister, "the two countries’ leaders struck a wonderful friendship at the Vladivostok summit and confirmed the invariable course of the history of the Korean-Russian relationship."
"We are delighted that under the leadership of distinguished President Vladimir Putin, Russia ensures the sustainable social and political stability and economic growth, succeeds in bolstering defense capabilities and firmly defends its positions and interests in the international arena," he stressed. "We wish Russia would get ahead."
Apart from that, Im Chon Il said that the festivities in Pyongyang marking the 71st anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations were attended by a delegation of Russian media heads led by Mikhail Seslavinsky, head of the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications. That fact "helps to strengthen the atmosphere of bilateral relations that are on the rise after the DPRK-Russia summit," according to the diplomat.
Besides Seslavinsky, the Russian delegation, which arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, features TASS Director General Sergei Mikhailov, Channel One Director General Konstantin Ernst, TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman and TASS First Deputy Editor-in-Chief Marat Abulkhatin.
On Monday, the heads of TASS news agency and Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Sergei Mikhailov and Kim Chang Gwang, held talks to ink a new agreement on cooperation between the two leading news agencies of Russia and North Korea.
The Soviet Union and North Korea established diplomatic ties on October 12, 1948.