North Korea, Belarus discuss cooperation as foreign ministers meet in Pyongyang

North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui met with her Belarusian counterpart Maxim Vladimirovich Ryzhenkov on Wednesday to discuss regional and international matters, North Korea's state media reported.

Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Vladimirovich Ryzhenkov, left, shakes hands with North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui in Pyongyang on Wednesday, in this photo carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency the following day. [YONHAP]

North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui met with her Belarusian counterpart Maxim Vladimirovich Ryzhenkov on Wednesday to discuss regional and international matters, North Korea's state media reported.

The discussions at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang come amid growing speculation about enhanced trilateral cooperation between North Korea, Belarus and Russia.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the two diplomats engaged in an "in-depth exchange of views on the issues of further developing the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries" and "the regional and international situations of mutual concern," through its English-language website Thursday.

While the KCNA did not provide further details, given the context of the countries' increasingly close ties with Russia, observers suggest that the diplomats might have underscored their support for Russia amid its ongoing war with Ukraine and possibly shared anti-American and anti-imperialist sentiments.

Belarus, under the leadership of an authoritarian president for three decades, has been a staunch supporter of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and is considered one of Moscow's strongest allies. Historically, North Korea has sent workers to Belarus in defiance of UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions aimed at curtailing the North's nuclear and weapons programs.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko proposed three-way cooperation with Russia and North Korea during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last September.

In addition to the foreign ministers' talks, North Korea's External Economic Relations Minister Yun Jong-ho met with Ryzhenkov to discuss potential areas of economic cooperation not restricted by UNSC resolutions, such as food security, education and health care, the Belarusian Telegraph Agency reported. It added that the Eastern European nation aims to export food to North Korea and import North Korean cosmetics.

"This appears to be the first visit by a Belarusian Foreign Minister to North Korea," a South Korean Unification Ministry official told reporters on Thursday, under condition of anonymity. "All exchanges and cooperation with North Korea should be in accordance with UNSC resolutions and international norms, aimed at promoting North Korea's denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula."

With the upcoming Asean Regional Forum (ARF) — the only regional multilateral forum North Korea attends — scheduled for two days starting Friday, Choe's attendance has yet to be confirmed.

Given Ryzhenkov's visit to North Korea, which lasts until Friday, analysts say it's unlikely that the North Korean foreign minister will participate in the ARF. Instead, the North Korean ambassador to Laos, Ri Yong-chol, is expected to attend.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]