Seoul, May 16 (IANS) A top official of North Korea’s rubber-stamp legislature met Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung for talks in Pyongyang earlier this week, the North’s state media reported on Saturday.
Jo Yong-won, chairman of the standing committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly, met Trung on Friday during his visit to the country as Vietnamese President To Lam’s special envoy, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The KCNA dispatch did not offer details of the talks, which included North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Pak Sang-gil and Vietnamese Ambassador to North Korea Le Ba Vinh, but noted that it took place in a “friendly atmosphere.”
Jo is considered a top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and one of the most influential officials in Pyongyang, reports Yonhap news agency, quoting KCNA.
Trung arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday and met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui the next day.
His visit came amid warming ties between the two countries following a summit between Lam and Kim in Pyongyang in October, which marked the first visit by a top Vietnamese leader to the North in 18 years.
Earlier, Pyongyang held a celebratory event to mark the recent key party congress of both North Korea and Vietnam.
The photography exhibition, hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy in Pyongyang, was held at Taedonggang Diplomatic Club on Thursday, featuring videos, photos and archival materials highlighting the friendship and cooperation between the two countries’ leaders past and present, the Korean Central News Agency said.
The event was attended by Pak Sang-gil, vice minister of foreign affairs, and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, who is currently visiting the North as a special envoy of Vietnamese President To Lam, and Le Ba Vinh, Vietnam’s ambassador to Pyongyang, among others.
North Korea held its ninth congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea in February, and Vietnam convened the 14th national congress of the Communist Party in January.
–IANS
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