PYONGYANG, 26 March (BelTA) – The first official visit of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has come to an end. At the airport, President of State Affairs of the DPRK Kim Jong Un personally saw off the Belarusian head of state, BelTA has learned.
The leaders of the two countries bid each other a warm farewell. The airport ceremony was attended by several hundred people, together with members of the delegations and an orchestra.
Aleksandr Lukashenko and Kim Jong Un held official talks in Pyongyang on 26 March, declaring the start of a new stage in bilateral relations. Following the talks, a treaty on friendship and cooperation between Belarus and the DPRK was signed. The parties also concluded about a dozen agreements and memorandums on cooperation in different areas, including education, healthcare, agriculture, culture, physical education and sports, information, as well as interaction through the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the foreign ministries.
The Belarusian head of state attended an official reception hosted by the leader of the DPRK. “Our countries are very much alike. They are alike in our peoples: hardworking and deeply devoted to their work,” the president said, raising a toast to the peoples of Belarus and the DPRK.
The president noted that the visit itself, though brief, carries great significance, marking a new chapter in cooperation between the two countries. Aleksandr Lukashenko observed that in the three decades since diplomatic ties were established, cooperation between Belarus and the DPRK could have progressed much further. “But as it turned out, we will have to catch up on the time we lost,” he said. “And we will go through this upcoming period very quickly, thanks to the bonds of friendship that bind us. We knew it well, and now we have seen it for ourselves that our countries share a common view on key issues of the international agenda.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko and Kim Jong Un attended a gala concert organized for the visit, where Korean artists performed both traditional Korean works and famous Belarusian songs.
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