North Korea’s top diplomat held talks in Tehran on Tuesday on a range of issues, including bilateral ties and regional and international developments.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong-ho, as the US has stepped up its political and financial pressure over Iran’s civil nuclear program while calling on the North to be denuclearized.
Ri is in Tehran following his attendance at a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore, where he lashed out at the US for “alarming” actions, including “raising its voice louder for maintaining the sanctions against” North Korea, Reuters reported.
The US is pushing Pyongyang to denuclearize after the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
During Tuesday’s meeting—which took place after the US reimposed sanctions on Iran following its withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — both sides underlined the need and importance of expanding two-way relations in all areas, the Foreign Ministry in Tehran reported.
Important Messages
In an article published Tuesday, Tasnim News Agency said Ri’s visit sends important messages, particularly to those who argue that negotiations between the US and North Korea indicate the East Asian country is distancing itself from Iran.
“However, the visit by the North Korean foreign minister at this juncture shows its foreign policy is as independent as in the past,” it said.
The article said Pyongyang is willing to pursue a balanced foreign policy and does not want to “put all its eggs in the basket of the United States”.
In the opinion of the news agency “North Korean leaders are not happy with the process of negotiations with the United States and…the visit by a senior Pyongyang official to Iran could be seen as a derision toward Washington and a warning to the country about future talks.”
