On May 31, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov met with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un and Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho in Pyongyang. The sides discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
????Sergey #Lavrov was greeted by the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of DPRK Kim Jong-un during his visit to Pyongyang pic.twitter.com/kjixCrCZ4t
— MFA Russia ?? (@mfa_russia) May 31, 2018
Lavrov expressed Moscow’s support to the Panmunjom Declaration signed by North and South Koreas:
“We are ready to assist in its implementation in every possible way, all the more so since it mentions railway projects that are to be carried out in the future with Russia’s participation.”
According to a video posted on the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs YouTube channel, Lavrov invited Kim to visit Russia.
Before the meeting with the North Korean Supreme Leader Lavrov held talks with Ri Yong-ho. According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’s statement, Lavrov and Ri exchanged “views on the situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula, with the focus on ways to enhance the coordination of efforts aimed at finding political and diplomatic solutions to the entire range of issues the subregion has been facing.”
Lavrov stressed that Russia looks forward for a further cooperation with North Korea. He also pointed out that Moscow “welcomes the contacts between North Korea and South Korea and between North Korea and the United States.”
“We emphasized our close and fruitful cooperation in the humanitarian sphere, culture and education. We are preparing three agreements on cooperation between our universities. We maintain contacts in the area of promoting the study of Russian in North Korea,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov revealed that the sides are considering “the old idea of launching trilateral projects between the two Korean states and Russia to link their railway networks and to build a gas pipeline as well as energy projects”.
