North Korea Plans to Develop Ties With Russia as Moscow Under US Sanctions Too

PYONGYANG (Sputnik) — On Friday, Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora told Sputnik that Russia and China don't want to cause social and economic chaos in North Korea with new sanctions mulled by the United States as main goal is to prevent North Korea’s nuclear missile programs.

"Russia, as well as our country, is under the sanctions of the United States and the West. We have to develop friendly relations. It will be in interest of both nations," deputy director of North Korean Foreign Ministry's first European department Kim Yong Ho said.

The diplomat noted that previous North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visited Russia three times and achieved significant improvement in the bilateral relations.

"The meeting on a high level and the documents between the countries is a basis for future development of friendly relations. The year of 2015 was a year of friendship between Russia and our country, the exchange of delegations intensified in all spheres of politics, economy and culture … Since the UN Security Council adopted a resolution [on North Korea] in 2016, bilateral relations … have been successfully developing, despite all obstacles," the North Korean diplomat said.

Since the beginning of 2016, North Korea has carried out a number of missile launches and nuclear tests, prompting worldwide criticism. As a result, the UN Security Council tightened the sanctions regime for North Korea in an attempt to force Pyongyang to stop ballistic missile launches and nuclear tests, including imposing a measure intended to affect the country’s trade, export of natural resources, arms trade and the banking sector.