ID :
207147
Wed, 09/14/2011 - 16:59
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/207147
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Russia to write off 90 pct of N Korea debt: media report (UPDATED)
MOSCOW, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- Russia plans to write off most of the debt owed by North Korea as the North is struggling with dire economic situations, a Russian media report said Wednesday.
According to the report by the Russian newspaper Izvestiya, Russia will write off about 90 percent of debts worth US$11 billion owed by the North before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Citing an unidentified official of Russia's finance ministry, the report said that the decision was reached after negotiations between Russia and North Korea resumed in June following a three-year hiatus.
Russia also proposed investing the remaining 10 percent of the debts in joint business projects to be launched in the North down the road. Pyongyang accepted the proposal, the report added.
The write-off decision is apparently based on the current dire economic conditions in the North, which still receives food and energy aid from Russia, according to local sources.
Russia's finance ministry declined to confirm the report but admitted that negotiations on the North's debt have resumed. It noted that a decision has yet to be made.
The report comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visited Russia last month for talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
During the meeting, both reportedly discussed a project to build a pipeline to carry natural gas to South Korea via the North. Currently, the two nations are also in talks for other joint projects, such as building railway lines.
According to the report by the Russian newspaper Izvestiya, Russia will write off about 90 percent of debts worth US$11 billion owed by the North before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Citing an unidentified official of Russia's finance ministry, the report said that the decision was reached after negotiations between Russia and North Korea resumed in June following a three-year hiatus.
Russia also proposed investing the remaining 10 percent of the debts in joint business projects to be launched in the North down the road. Pyongyang accepted the proposal, the report added.
The write-off decision is apparently based on the current dire economic conditions in the North, which still receives food and energy aid from Russia, according to local sources.
Russia's finance ministry declined to confirm the report but admitted that negotiations on the North's debt have resumed. It noted that a decision has yet to be made.
The report comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visited Russia last month for talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
During the meeting, both reportedly discussed a project to build a pipeline to carry natural gas to South Korea via the North. Currently, the two nations are also in talks for other joint projects, such as building railway lines.
