North Korea is interested in strong Russia - Foreign Ministry spokesman

PYONGYANG, December 30. /TASS/. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is interested in a strong Russia, the chief of the DPRK Foreign Ministry’s press and information department, Jong Tong-hak, has told TASS. He welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement to the effect the government should focus on social liabilities and on maintaining the exchange rate of the rouble, and also on measures to bolster the unity of the Russian nation. “Russia is moving steadily along its own path of progress towards becoming a major power,” Jong said, adding that traditional relations of friendship and cooperation with Russia “remain an ever-lasting stance of the DPRK government.” The North Korean Foreign Ministry official spoke highly of last November’s visit a member of the Politbureau Presidium and Secretariat of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Choe Ryong-hae, paid to Moscow, Vladivostok, and Khabarovsk in the capacity of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s envoy. “We are certain that the results of that visit fully meet the interests of our peoples and contribute to strengthening stability on the peninsula and the region in general,” the diplomat said. The North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman believes that the North Korean-Russian relations are not susceptible to the volatile world situation. Among the destabilizing factors he mentioned the situation in Ukraine and the Islamic State militants. The diplomat added that under the leadership of Kim Jong-un the DPRK was firmly advancing along the path of progress, “strengthening the unity of the party, the army, the people and the leader.” “We are not scared by any of the threats from our adversaries,” the diplomat said. Russia and North Korea are going to conduct joint festivities next year on the occasion of the 70th anniversary since the end of World War II, the Korean Central News Agency said. Read more