Putin reveals goals of North Korea trip

The Russian leader wants better relations free of pressure from the West

Moscow and Pyongyang will develop trade and security arrangements, immune from pressure from the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, ahead of his visit to North Korea on Tuesday. The Russian president outlined his goals in an article published by the leading DPRK daily, Rodong Sinmun.

To bring “more democracy and stability to international relations,” Russia and North Korea “will develop alternative trade and mutual settlements mechanisms not controlled by the West, jointly oppose illegitimate unilateral restrictions, and shape the architecture of equal and indivisible security in Eurasia,” Putin wrote.

He also pledged to increase “people-to-people interaction” between the two countries, including “academic mobility” between higher education institutions, tourism, “as well as cultural, educational, youth and sports exchanges” to promote confidence, mutual understanding and well-being.

Putin reminded Koreans that the Soviet army helped liberate them from Japanese occupation in 1945 and that Moscow was the first to recognize the DPRK and establish diplomatic relations with Pyongyang. The USSR also helped rebuild the country after the devastation of the Korean War (1950-1953) with the US-backed South.

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“Russia has incessantly supported and will support the DPRK and the heroic Korean people in their struggle against the treacherous, dangerous and aggressive enemy, in their fight for independence, identity and the right to freely choose their development path,” the Russian president wrote.

Tuesday’s visit will be Putin’s first trip to North Korea since 2000, when he met with Kim Jong-Il. Last September, he hosted the current DPRK leader Kim Jong-un at the Vostochny spaceport in eastern Russia.

According to the Kremlin, the Russian delegation will also include Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt, space agency Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov, and Russian Railway head Oleg Belozyorov.