Pyongyang: North Korea and Russia have entered into an agreement focusing on cooperation within the forestry sector, as reported by state media on Friday. This agreement marks an effort to enhance exchanges and collaboration between the two countries.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the protocol was signed in Pyongyang following a meeting of a joint forestry subcommittee concerning economic and trade cooperation between North Korea and Russia. The session concentrated on detailed discussions about how to "expand and develop exchanges and cooperation in the forestry sector," as outlined in the report.
Leading the Russian delegation was Grigory Gusev, the deputy director of the timber industry department within Russia's industry and trade ministry. The delegation traveled to North Korea on Wednesday to participate in the forestry subcommittee meeting, which has been operational for nearly three decades. The subcommittee's history includes North Korea sending woodcutters to Russia to earn foreign currency amidst ongoing international sanctions.
Analysts have speculated that the discussions might have included North Korea's potential dispatch of workers to Russia, which is experiencing a labor shortage due to its ongoing conflict with Ukraine. In April, South Korea's spy agency indicated that North Korea had already sent approximately 15,000 workers to Russia.
Despite U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at curbing North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, North Korea has continued to send workers abroad to countries including Russia, China, Mongolia, and parts of Africa to generate hard currency.