North Korea foreign minister to visit AzerbaijanApril 3, 2018 - 14:46 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho left Pyongyang for Beijing on Tuesday, April 3 morning and will visit Azerbaijan and Russia shortly thereafter, regional media reported Tuesday, Sputnik reports. After his visit to China, the minister will take part in a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Baku, and then he will visit Russia, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing diplomatic sources. Pyongyang has not yet revealed any announcement of the foreign minister's tour. The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier said that Moscow was working on the visit of the North Korean foreign minister to Russia in the near future. Experts link Ri Yong-ho's visit to Russia, as well as the trip of the country's head Kim Jong-un to China last week, to North Korea's desire to ensure support of other countries before Kim's meetings with the presidents of South Korea and the United States, in order to guarantee the preservation of the political system and reduce military threats at the denuclearization negotiations. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |