DPRK-Russia deep-rooted relations are on the rise-KCNA

PYONGYANG, August 26 (Itar-Tass) - The "deep-rooted relations of
friendship and cooperation between the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea (DPRK) and Russia are on the rise," the North's official Korean
Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary released on Friday.
It says that officers and soldiers of the Red Army took part "in the
holy war for the liberation of Korea." "So our people will never forget
the unprecedented feat of the Soviet soldiers, and the monument
"Liberation" that was erected in their honour in Pyongyang will forever
remain a symbol of Korean-Russian friendship," KCNA noted.
The agency recalled that DPRK founder Kim Il Sung paid nine visits to
the Soviet Union where he held talks with government and party leaders in
the interests of the development of bilateral cooperation and exchanges in
all fields.
DPRK leader Kim Jong Il, KCNA stresses, also attaches major importance
to developing relations with Russia "in accordance with the requirements
of the new century." The commentary states that the recent visit of the
General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and Chairman of the
National Defence Commission to several regions in the Russian Far Eastern
and Siberian Federal Districts and his meeting with President Dmitry
Medvedev took place at the time when the two countries are marking the
10th anniversary of signing the Moscow Declaration "that became a historic
event regarding the further strengthening of bilateral relations." In
addition, this document has made a major contribution to strengthening
security in Northeast Asia, according to KCNA.
North Korea also today is ready to "most actively implement agreements
between the two countries and raise to a new high level Korean-Russian
relations of friendship and cooperation in all spheres - the political,
economic and cultural."
The Moscow Declaration was signed on August 4, 2001 during Kim Jong Il'
s visit to Russia. The two countries assumed the obligation to "promote
the formation of a new fair world order based on the supremacy of law,
principles of equality, mutual respect, mutual cooperation in order to
maintain global stability and ensure reliable security for each member of
the international community in the political, economic, social, cultural,
information and other spheres."
According to KCNA, at the talks on Wednesday the top leaders
underlined the need for the two countries to boost the friendship,
equality and mutually beneficial cooperative relations in the spirit of
the DPRK-Russia Joint Declaration inked in Pyongyang in 2000, the 2001
DPRK-Russia Moscow Declaration and the Treaty of Friendship,
Good-neighbourliness and Cooperation between the DPRK and Russia.
They expressed firm belief that the cause of building a prosperous and
powerful nation in the DPRK and that of building a powerful state in
Russia would surely be accomplished thanks to the two peoples' vigorous
struggle for social progress and development. They expressed mutual
support and solidarity with the cause.
The two top leaders had an in-depth exchange of views on regional and
international issues at the talks.
At the talks they shared the view that the six-party talks should be
resumed without any precondition at an early date to implement the
September 19 joint statement on the principle of simultaneous action and
thus accelerate the denuclearisation of the whole Korean Peninsula.
Manifested at the talks was the will of the governments of the two
countries to reject high-handed and arbitrary practices in the
international arena and establish a fair international order in order to
actively contribute to the peace and security in the region and the rest
of the world. The talks discussed a series of agenda items on boosting the
economic and cooperative relations in various fields including the issue
of energy including gas and the issue of linking railways and reached a
common understanding of them, KCNA reported.
It was decided at the talks to organize and operate working groups to
put the above-said issues into practice and the two countries agreed to
continue cooperating with each other in this direction. The two top
leaders expressed satisfaction with the results of the talks and further
deepened their friendship.
Kim Jong Il invited the Russian president to pay a visit to the DPRK
at a convenient time and the invitation was accepted with pleasure. The
talks proceeded in a sincere and friendly atmosphere from start to end.
Recently, overall relations between Russia and North Korea have been
improving. Russia is upgrading its railway connections with North Korea in
Khasan and has been participating in an ambitious plan to build a
trans-Korean railway. As is the case with China and South Korea, Russia is
critical to North Korean security, since Russia shares a 18.3 km border
with the DPRK, and Russian cooperation would be necessary to enforce any
security guarantee. As fuel aid from abroad has decreased, moreover, North
Korea has turned again toward Russia as a source of supply.
Major Russian exports to the DPRK include mineral fuels, wood and
pulp, fertilizers, ships/boats, and iron/steel. The large increase in 2003
came mostly in refined oil (total exports of mineral fuel oil jumped from
$20 million in 2002 to $96 million in 2003). Pyongyang had to turn to
Russia for petroleum, as supplies of fuel oil from the United States,
Japan, and South Korea were curtailed as the six-party talks bogged down.