North Korea and Belarus have held economic talks in Pyongyang as the North has expected "vibrant" bilateral cooperation and exchanges, state media reported Thursday.
A government delegation from Belarus, led by Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Shuleiko, arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday to attend the third meeting of the intergovernmental joint committee for trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
North Korea and Belarus held sectoral economic talks Wednesday to discuss ways to promote cooperation in various fields to prepare for a bilateral protocol, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
At a banquet Wednesday, North Korea's Vice Premier Jong Myong-su said the delegation's visit will contribute to further developing friendly ties between the two nations.
"He expressed the belief that bilateral cooperation and exchanges will vibrantly take place," Jong was quoted as saying by the KCNA.
Shuleiko also vowed further cooperation and contacts between the two nations to promote the welfare of their peoples, the report said.
It marked the first time in 19 years that the North and Belarus have held a meeting of the intergovernmental joint committee for trade and economic cooperation. The second such meeting was held in Minsk in June 2006 following the first session in June 1995.
Belarus has been supportive of Russia's war against Ukraine. Top diplomats of North Korea and Belarus held a meeting in Pyongyang in July 2024, as the two nations have been deepening military ties with Russia.
A South Korean unification ministry official assessed that Belarus is one of the few countries that North Korea is turning to for economic cooperation amid international sanctions.
"North Korea appears to be seeking cooperation with Belarus as part of efforts to build channels with its few traditional allies amid ongoing sanctions against it," the official said, adding that the two have previously traded superior agricultural and livestock breeds, as well as Belarusian tractors. (Yonhap)
