North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister holds talks with Belarus and Burkina Faso during his visit to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly

(New York = Yonhap News) Correspondent Lim Soo-jeong and Kim Yeon-sook = North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Sun-kyung, who is visiting New York to attend the 81st High-Level Session of the United Nations General Assembly, continued her schedule of bilateral talks with friendly countries such as Belarus and Burkina Faso.

According to local media such as Belta News on the 27th (local time), Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzenkov met with Vice Minister Kim in New York on the 24th.

The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the two sides reviewed the implementation of the agreements reached during President Alexander Lukashenko's visit to North Korea in March and discussed ways to develop relations between the two countries.

In particular, he explained that he focused on opening the Belarusian Embassy in Pyongyang and promoting the activities of the Joint Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation between the two countries.

The two sides also agreed to strengthen efforts to conclude a visa exemption agreement for nationals of the two countries and to continue mutual support on the international stage.

The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that relations between the two countries have reached a "qualitatively new level" over the past year, emphasizing that friendship and trust between the leaders of the two countries are a solid foundation for the development of relations.

North Korea and Belarus are both core allies of Russia and maintain a strong anti-Western stance. In particular, as military cooperation between North Korea and Russia is strengthening, the relationship between the two countries appears to be rapidly becoming closer.

Vice Minister Kim also held talks with his counterpart in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

According to Burkina Faso's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, local media reported that Foreign Minister Karamocco Jean-Marie Traoré met with Vice Minister Kim on the 26th and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation.

The two sides decided to expand delegation exchanges and solidify the existing cooperation system.

Minister Traore noted that there are similarities between the process North Korea has gone through and the current situation in Burkina Faso, and pointed out that media reports surrounding North Korea are far from reality.

Burkina Faso established diplomatic relations with North Korea during the 1983 revolution, but relations were suspended in 2017. Afterwards, the resumption of diplomatic relations was formalized in March 2023.

Vice Minister Kim, who arrived in New York on the 23rd, is scheduled to deliver a speech on the 28th, the last day of the high-level session.