Russia defended North Korea on Monday against US claims it helped form an ‘axis of evil’ as a top Pyongyang official was due in Moscow just days ahead of the arrival of US President George W Bush. North Korean foreign minister Paek Nam-Sun is due in the Russian capital at 10:45 am for a 48-hour visit held against the backdrop of a vital Russia-US summit that is set to clinch a long-discussed nuclear disarmament deal. But while joining the US-led campaign against terror in Afghanistan and negotiating on nuclear weapons, Russia has also courted the isolated regime of North Korea under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, who is keen to spread Moscow's influence in the far east. And Moscow introduced a sour note to the Bush-Putin summit on Monday by dismissing Washington's suggestions that the Stalinist regime had supplied long-range missiles to other threatening nations. The senior Russian diplomat added that recent international developments should not obstruct the improvement of relations between Russian and North Korea.
Losyukov's comments came two days after foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko noted, “While we do not share certain ideological or political concepts with our partners, we must seek to build closer ties to friendly nations.”
Russia had all but abandoned its Soviet-era partner following communism's fall, boosting trade with South Korea while North Korea's economy imploded from lack of assistance from Moscow.
Bureau Report