Lukashenko visited North Korea for the first time
Belarus’s self-proclaimed president, Alexander Lukashenko, has arrived in Pyongyang on a visit. He was personally greeted at the airport by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The two sides are expected to hold talks on March 26 at the North Korean leader’s residence.
This was reported by KCNA.
The welcoming ceremony for the two dictators, which took place on Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang the day before, was held in the traditional style of the North Korean regime, with Pyongyang residents and local schoolchildren in attendance, holding the national flags of both countries and flowers in their hands.
In addition to Lukashenko, the Belarusian delegation includes Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Shuleiko, Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov, Health Minister Alexander Khodzhaev, Education Minister Andrei Ivanets, and Industry Minister Andrei Kuznetsov.
As reported, Lukashenko and Kim will hold talks on March 26 at the North Korean leader’s residence, “Kumsusan.” It is expected that the parties may discuss issues of military-technical cooperation, the use of labor, and joint methods of circumventing international economic sanctions.
The intensification of contacts between the leaders comes against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine, where both states play the role of active allies of the Kremlin.
Trump’s special representative approved Lukashenko’s visit to the U.S. and announced the lifting of sanctions.
Earlier, the U.S. and Lukashenko agreedon the release of more than 250 Belarusian political prisoners.
Belarusian dictator Lukashenko pardoned 123 prisoners, including Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova and human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.
U.S. Special Representative in Minsk John Cole announced Washington’s decision to lift sanctions previously imposed on Belarusian potash.
