a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Sunday defended that her country “has the right” to continue dialogue with North Korea, leaving criticism to the West.
This position came within the framework of the North Korean Foreign Minister's three-day visit to Russia, which begins on Monday. Although Choi Son Hui's visit has been confirmed, few details have been shared.
Zakharova said in an interview with Russia Today: “First, there will be talks. Secondly, there will naturally be a lot of speculation. The West continues to say that Russia is behaving wrongly, and that it has no right to communicate with North Korea.” Voskresny Vecher program, on Russia-1 channel, cited by the Russian state agency TASS.
He defended by saying: “We have the right to do what we consider appropriate, bearing in mind that we always declare respect for international law.” He added: “We are not violating anything. We are working to develop relations with our partners in various fields.”
It is noteworthy that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited North Korea last October, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Choe's visit comes after new evidence was revealed that North Korea and Russia agreed to cooperate militarily during a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin last September, which included the transfer of weapons from Pyongyang to Moscow, in violation. Due to the sanctions imposed by the United Nations on the Asian country.
Last week, the White House said that Russia had recently launched North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine, in addition to those already used in the December 30 and January 2 attacks. But Pyongyang and Moscow deny this arms transfer.
In contrast, it is believed that Kim Jong Un's regime received Russian technical assistance in launching the first military reconnaissance satellite last November.
South Korea estimates that the number of containers – loaded with ballistic missiles, launchers and hundreds of thousands of artillery shells – transported from North Korea to Russia since the summer now exceeds 5,000 containers.
Read also: North Korea confirms the launch of a ballistic missile
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