Belarus open to any North Korean initiatives, vice-premier tells visiting minister
Šulejka (right) and Yun Jong Ho
June 1, Pozirk. Belarus is open to any initiatives by North Korea that are based on what the two countries can realistically accomplish and their international commitments, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Juryj Šulejka said Monday in Minsk while meeting with North Korea’s Minister of External Economic Relations Yun Jong Ho.
According to the press office of Belarus’ Council of Ministers, participants at the meeting discussed the implementation of the agreements reached during Alaksandar Łukašenka’s visit to North Korea in late March.
The sides reportedly expressed readiness to step up cooperation in the areas of “food security” and healthcare, among others, and to speed up preparations for the third meeting of the joint commission for trade and economic cooperation and for “exchanging visits by sectoral delegations.”
North Korea’s KCNA reported on May 31 that the North Korean delegation is in Belarus to attend Bielahra 2026, an agricultural exhibition scheduled to take place in Minsk between June 2 and June 6.
Today, Belarusian leader Alaksandar Łukašenka met with Qu Dongyu, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to emphasize a link between sanctions on Belarusian crop nutrients and global food insecurity.
North Korea is a totalitarian state under a strict cult of personality and also under UN Security Council sanctions over its nuclear program. Since its foundation in 1948, the power has been handed over from father to son – from Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il to Kim Jong Un.
Alaksandar Łukašenka’s visit to North Korea in late March “exceeded all expectations,” his spokeswoman Natalla Ejsmant said earlier, adding that Minsk would “always be happy” to host Kim Jong Un.
Last month Minsk announced that it will open an embassy in Pyongyang by August 1. Ji Gyong Su, the newly appointed ambassador of North Korea to Belarus, has already presented his diplomatic credentials to Łukašenka.
Minsk has sought top-level contacts with North Korea for the last few years. Earlier this year, Łukašenka congratulated Kim Jong Un on his re-election as leader of the Workers’ Party of Korea, while Kim congratulated the Belarusian politician on extending his 30-year-long rule in Belarus last year.
North Korean government delegation expected in Belarus
May 31, Pozirk. A delegation of North Korean officials, headed by Yun Jong Ho, minister of external economic relations, departed Pyongyang to attend the Bielahra 2026 exhibition in Belarus, scheduled from June 2 to 6, KCNA reported yesterday. North Korea …
