By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held talks in his country’s capital Pyongyang with the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, Moscow said on Thursday.
A statement by the State Duma said that Vyacheslav Volodin conveyed “warm greetings” from Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as congratulations on the occasion of last Friday’s 80th anniversary of the National Liberation Day of Korea, marking the end of Japanese colonial rule.
The statement further said that Volodin expressed gratitude to the North Korean leader for Pyongyang’s support to Russia, as it claimed to have pushed Ukraine out of its border region of Kursk earlier this year following an incursion last August.
It added that the State Duma speaker also met with Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the standing committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, North Korea’s legislative body, during which they discussed new formats of inter-parliamentary cooperation.
Volodin arrived in Pyongyang late Wednesday together with a parliamentary delegation on a two-day official visit during which he will take part in ceremonial events marking the 80th anniversary of the National Liberation Day of Korea.
The holiday, marking Japan's defeat in World War II and the end of its 35 years of colonial rule in the Korean Peninsula, is also celebrated in South Korea.