MOSCOW, September 13. /TASS/. Moscow and Pyongyang plan to develop cooperation that will be unencumbered by pressure from the West, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Rossiya-1 television.

"As agreed, our leaders (Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un - TASS) reiterated today that we will foster mutually advantageous cooperation with North Korea that will not be subject to any illegitimate Western pressure," Russia’s top diplomat said.

Commenting on processes currently underway across the globe, Lavrov said that "NATO has declared the entire Asia-Pacific region its zone of responsibility" as the organization has been "establishing military blocs that are aimed against China and Russia here."

According to Lavrov, the West is unwilling to abide by every single principle of the UN Charter. "The West only concerns itself with what serves its interests only. The [Russian] president was quite clear about that once again today. And he dwelled on that in detail at the EEF (Eastern Economic Forum - TASS)," the Russian foreign minister concluded.

On Sunday, the North Korean leader set off for an official visit to Russia at the invitation of the Russian president. The two leaders met at the Vostochny Spaceport in the Amur Region in Russia’s Fast East on Wednesday. Their summit lasted more than five hours. Putin and Kim had expanded talks with their accompanying delegations and held a one-on-one meeting, too. This is Kim’s first foreign trip since 2019.