Belarus President "Strengthening Cooperation with North Korea... Closely Watching the Korean Peninsula"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Yoo-jin] Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus, a former Soviet state, expressed his intention to strengthen cooperation with North Korea on the 3rd (local time).

According to Interfax and other sources, President Lukashenko received credentials from ambassadors of six countries, including North Korea, at the Independence Palace, the presidential residence in downtown Minsk, and said, "The bilateral relationship (with North Korea) is at a very low level, and we need to actively make more efforts."

He added, "Belarus is interested in maintaining constructive exchanges with North Korea in international organizations," and urged the newly appointed North Korean Ambassador Ju Jeong-bong to "take interest in cooperation in areas such as pharmaceutical and food production, and vocational training." Ambassador Ju was appointed in April last year but presented his credentials belatedly on this day.

He also stated, "We are closely monitoring the situation on the Korean Peninsula and support all efforts to establish peace in the region and resolve existing conflicts," expressing interest in the North Korean nuclear negotiations.

President Lukashenko began his sixth term at the end of September amid controversy over election fraud. Having been in power for 26 years, Lukashenko won the presidential election held in August with over 80% of the vote, leading to large-scale opposition protests by the opposition against fraudulent voting and vote counting manipulation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.