N. Korea believed to be desperate to win Russia's support

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Im Chon-il, right, enters the guesthouse of Russia's foreign ministry to meet with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov in Moscow, March 14. A group of Russian senators is visiting North Korea separately from March 14 to 21 to discuss issues on business, culture and other areas. / Yonhap

Russian senators visiting Pyongyang until March 21

By Yi Whan-woo

A group of Russian senators is visiting North Korea, the latest in a series of talks between the two countries following the collapse of the U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Sergei Kislyak, the first deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council's Committee for Foreign Affairs and one of the Russian delegates, said the visit from March 16 to 21 will be "an absolutely natural, normal practice" to continue dialogue between the two countries.

But speculation is rampant it results from Pyongyang's desperate bid to woo support from Moscow, following the collapse of talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

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The failure of talks apparently clouds the North Korean leader's plans to rebuild the country's economy by convincing the U.S. to lift nuclear sanctions against his regime.

China, the North's closet ally, is believed to be remaining prudent in its stance over the summit collapse.

"The goal of the visit (to North Korea) is to continue the dialogue with a country that is friendly to us and that is solving most difficult problems in the foreign and domestic policies," Kislyak told Russian news agency TASS after arriving at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, March 16. "We have things to discuss, we wish to better understand the aspirations of our North Korean neighbors, and I think that this dialogue is an absolutely natural, normal practice that we will continue in our relations."

Oleg Melnichenko, who heads the Russian delegation, said, "We have a heavy substantial program that includes not just the cultural part," in his reference to a number of scheduled business meetings.

In separate diplomatic efforts, three North Korean officials visited Moscow separately earlier this month and met their Russian counterparts.

On March 14, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Im Chon-il met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and discussed "a schedule of political contacts," according to Russia's foreign ministry. It did not elaborate further.

Some diplomatic sources speculate "political contacts" could include Kim Jong-un's possible trip to Moscow for his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The North's Minister for External Economic Affairs Kim Yong-jae met with Russian Minister for the Development of the Far East Alexander Kozlov from March 4 to 6 during a meeting aimed at discussing cooperation in trade and economy.

On March 5, Han Man-hyok, vice department director of the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party, attended a photo exhibition organized to mark the 70th anniversary of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's official state visit to Moscow and met his counterparts accordingly.

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