Belarusian President Proposes Trilateral Cooperation with Russia and North Korea

President Lukashenko said that he sees opportunities for cooperation between Belarus with Russia and North Korea and wants to develop along this path.

"We can think about trilateral cooperation," Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on September 15 when meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in the city of Sochi. "North Korea, Russia. I know that the North Koreans are very interested in Russia. I believe that there is a place for Belarus there, too, given the problems that exist."

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with his Belarusian counterpart during a meeting in Sochi on September 15. Photo: Kremlin — Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with his Belarusian counterpart during a meeting in Sochi on September 15. Photo: *Kremlin*

President Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met earlier at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's far eastern Amur region. This was Mr. Kim's first foreign trip in four years.

Little information has been released about the meeting between the two leaders, but observers say Russia may be looking to North Korea for ammunition, despite UN sanctions banning arms trade with Pyongyang.

Mr. Kim is said to be interested in Russian military and aerospace technology, including the possibility of Moscow helping Pyongyang launch spy satellites as well as providing technical support for North Korea's ballistic missile program.

However, President Putin on September 15 appeared to deny that Russia intended to make an arms deal with North Korea, violating UN sanctions.

"North Korea is our neighbor and we must always strive to build good neighborly relations," Putin said at a press conference after talks with Lukashenko. "Yes, there are some specifics regarding the Korean peninsula. We discuss this issue openly, we have never violated anything and in this case we will not violate it. But of course, we will look for opportunities to develop Russian-North Korean relations."

Dmitry Peskov, President Putin's spokesman, said no agreements or arms deals were signed by the two leaders during the visit.

On September 15, Mr. Kim visited a Russian fighter jet factory in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, more than 6,400 km east of Moscow. In photos released by Russian and North Korean media, Mr. Kim inspected the cockpit of a Russian Su-57 fighter jet and watched a test flight of a Su-35 fighter jet.

Vu Hoang (According to Guardian )

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