Russia set to continue mutually beneficial cooperation with North Korea - speaker

MOSCOW, June 23. /TASS/. Moscow is committed to developing mutually beneficial cooperation with North Korea, the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, said on Tuesday. The visit of the chairman of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly, Choe Thae-bok to Moscow is "serious evidence" that North Korea’s leadership has a "firm intention" to develop relationship, Sergey Naryshkin said. "I want to assure you that the Russian leadership also adheres to the line towards good-neighborly relations, development of friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries," Naryshkin stressed. The senior Russian lawmaker expressed hope that the current visit will become useful and interesting for North Korea’s representatives. "We consider our inter-parliamentary ties as part of interstate relations that we appreciate," he said, adding that Russia is interested in expanding inter-parliamentary cooperation both in a bilateral format and at various international parliamentary platforms. The speaker also praised the participation of Kim Yong-nam, the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, in the celebrations on occasion of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). Read more