Head of N. Korea's assembly meets Russia's party delegation in Pyongyang

SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) -- The head of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) has met with a visiting Russian party delegation in Pyongyang, the North's state media reported Thursday.

Pak In-chol, chairman of the North's SPA, met with the delegation led by Kazbek Taysaev, secretary of the Russian Communist Party's central committee, at Mansudae Assembly Hall the previous day and held talks "in a friendly atmosphere," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Also present at the meeting were Ri Chol, president of the Academy of Medical Science under the public health ministry and chairman of the North Korea-Russia friendly parliamentary group, and Russian Ambassador Alexandr Matsegora, the KCNA said, without further elaboration.

The delegation arrived in Pyongyang on Monday in the latest of a series of high-level exchanges between the countries.

They are ramping up cooperation in a range of sectors, including the military, economy and public health following the signing of a mutual defense treaty last June between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko was reported as saying last week that preparations were underway for a visit by Kim to Russia.

pbr@yna.co.kr
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