Politics

Talks were held at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang on October 9 between Jo Yong Won, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau and secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, and Dmitri Medvedev, president of the United Russia Party.

Present there from the DPRK side were Ri Hi Yong, member of the Political Bureau and secretary of the WPK Central Committee, Kim Song Nam, alternate member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and director of the International Department of the WPK Central Committee, Yun Jong Ho, minister of External Economic Relations of the DPRK, and officials concerned, and from the Russian side Vladimir Yakushev, secretary of the General Council of the United Russia Party and first vice-chairman of the Russian Federation Council, Aleksandr Matsegora, Russian ambassador to the DPRK, Alexandr Kozlov, minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russia, and members of the delegation of the United Russia Party.

The talks appreciated that the bonds of friendship between the ruling parties and peoples of the two countries are being further deepened with the 80th founding anniversary of the WPK as a momentum.

Expressed there were the will to steadily boost many-sided exchange and cooperation between the WPK and the URP as required by the new era of development of the DPRK-Russia relations ushered in thanks to the leadership of the heads of state of the two countries and thus make a positive contribution to further enriching the bilateral relations.

At the end of the talks, a joint statement for the development of relations between the Workers' Party of Korea and the United Russia Party was adopted.

The joint statement was signed by Ri Hi Yong, secretary of the Central Committee of the WPK, on behalf of the WPK, and Vladimir Yakushev, secretary of the General Council, on behalf of the URP.