North Korea’s foreign minister arrives in Iran as new sanctions hit

by WorldTribune Staff, August 9, 2018

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho said during a visit to Teheran on Aug. 7 that Pyongyang’s “strategic policy is to deepen relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and confront unilateralism.”

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho meets with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Ri, who met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, arrived in Teheran as the U.S. reimposed nuclear-related sanctions on Iran. The new sanctions have led to a growing number of anti-government protests in the Islamic Republic, according to Iranian media reports.

A diplomatic source told Kyodo News that Ri carried a message from North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to Iranian leaders. The content of the message was not immediately clear.

Iran’s presidential office said Rouhani noted how Iran and North Korea “have always supported each other” on the international stage.

At the recent ASEAN summit, Ri had lashed out at the U.S. for “alarming” actions, including “raising its voice louder for maintaining the sanctions against” North Korea.

U.S. President Donald Trump hailed an agreement with Kim Jong-Un for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, but observers say Pyongyang has been progressing slowly toward that goal in the weeks since the two leaders met in Singapore.

U.S. officials have urged all countries to maintain sanctions until Pyongyang achieves “the final, fully verified denuclearization” to which it has agreed.


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