A high-level North Korean economic delegation was in Iran on Wednesday, the North's state media said, for what would be the two countries’ first known talks since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pyongyang's delegation led by Yun Jung Ho, North Korea’s minster of external economic relations, flew out Tuesday for the trip to Iran, official Korean Central News Agency said.
Pyongyang and Tehran are among the few governments in the world that support Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and both have been accused of providing Russia with military equipment.
The last known time North Korea sent senior officials to Iran was in August 2019, when a group led by Pak Chol Min, vice chair of Pyongyang’s rubber-stamp parliament, made a weeklong visit. The two countries had active diplomatic exchanges until North Korea sealed its borders in an effort to stave off the pandemic, before a cautious reopening in 2023.
North Korea has made efforts for months to boost the visibility of its ties with Russia and China as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attempts to break out of diplomatic isolation and join a united front against the US.
In 2023, Kim visited Russia’s Far East for a rare summit with Putin, which highlighted the countries’ expanding military cooperation, including the North’s alleged transfers of artillery shells, missiles, and other munitions to Russia.
Earlier this month, Kim hosted top Chinese official Zhao Leji, who heads the ceremonial parliament and ranks third in the ruling Communist Party hierarchy. It was the highest-level meeting between the countries in years.
