MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. The DPRK hopes to take relations with Russia to a new level in 2024, as cooperation between the two countries continues to develop actively, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said at talks with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.

"I believe that our meeting today, which is being held in the first days of the new year, will be the launching point for taking bilateral relations to a new level this year, as well as in achieving real benefits for the peoples of the two countries," she said.

"The fact that the foreign ministers of the two countries are now meeting frequently and deepening the ties of comradeship is further proof that Korea-Russia friendly relations, boasting a long history of friendship and tradition, are actively developing in accordance with the plans of the two countries' leaders," the top diplomat added.

According to North Korea’s top diplomat, relations between Pyongyang and Moscow have stood the test of time, and "have gone through every difficulty and hardship." "Today, strategic friendly relations are constantly developing due to the special attention of the President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Comrade Kim Jong Un, as well as the president of the Russian Federation, Comrade [Vladimir] Putin," Choe Son Hui summed up.