North Korea sends youth delegation to Russia

ANKARA

North Korea has sent its youth delegation to Russia to attend the World Youth Festival 2024, state news agency KCNA reported on Tuesday.

The delegation led by Moon Chul, head of the Central Committee of the North Korean Socialist Patriotic Youth League, left Pyongyang on Monday. The international festival is scheduled from Feb. 29 - March 7 in the federal territory of Sirius.

They are also expected to meet Russian officials to discuss expansion of ties between the youth organizations of the two countries.

Relations between Moscow and Pyongyang have grown since an official visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to Russia last September, when he met President Vladimir Putin.

Last week, North Korean state media said Putin gifted a Russian-made car to Kim for his personal use.

Washington says North Korea supplied military equipment and munitions to Russia for its war effort against Ukraine, a claim denied by Moscow.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid