Belarusian deputy foreign minister visits North Korea

Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Evgeny Shestakov, center, left, visits Pyongyang, April 16. Yonhap

Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Evgeny Shestakov has arrived in Pyongyang, North Korea's state media said Wednesday, in an apparent move to boost bilateral ties.

The North's Korean Central News Agency did not provide any details in its one-sentence dispatch on Shestakov's visit.

The trip came amid North Korea's deepening cooperation with Russia, spawning views that Shestakov's visit could be aimed at strengthening ties among the three nations.

Belarus has been supportive of Russia over its war against Ukraine. North Korea is suspected of having supplied arms to Russia for the war while seeking technological assistance from Moscow for Pyongyang's weapons programs.

In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko proposed three-way cooperation involving Moscow, Minsk and Pyongyang.

In January, North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-kyong held talks with Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Uganda. (Yonhap)