North Korean Delegation Led By Deputy Foreign Minister Leaves For Russia - Reports

A delegation of the North Korean Foreign Ministry led by the country's deputy foreign minister Im Chon Il has left Pyongyang to visit Russia, North Korean state media said Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th March, 2019) A delegation of the North Korean Foreign Ministry led by the country's deputy foreign minister Im Chon Il has left Pyongyang to visit Russia, North Korean state media said Monday.

According to the KCNA, the delegation is expected to attend bilateral consultations at the level of deputy foreign ministers, as well as "the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the conclusion of the agreement on economic and cultural cooperation between the two countries."

On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov would receive his North Korean counterpart in Moscow on March 14. Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that that the two diplomats would discuss bilateral relations and the situation on the Korean Peninsula among other issues.

Diplomatic sources in the ministry told Sputnik that the meeting would be devoted to bilateral cooperation, including trade, but the issue of denuclearization is not on the agenda. However, one of the sides may raise this issue during the consultations.

In November, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov expressed hope that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would visit Russia in 2019. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed hope last week that the date and venue of the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim would be agreed soon.