According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the country's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui held talks Wednesday at the Mansudae Assembly Hall with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Lê Hoài Trung, who visited Pyongyang as a special envoy of Tô Lâm, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the country's president.
During the meeting, Choe recalled the summit held in Pyongyang in October last year and reaffirmed Pyongyang's commitment to "developing the traditional [North Korea]-Vietnam friendship and cooperative relations in line with the aspirations and wishes of the peoples of the two countries," KCNA said.
Trung responded that Vietnam has consistently attached importance to strengthening friendly and cooperative ties with North Korea and has paid "deep attention" to advancing bilateral relations.
The two sides agreed to further expand exchanges and cooperation in multiple sectors and strengthen strategic communication and mutual support between their foreign policy institutions, the report said. They also exchanged views on regional and international issues.
Kim Song-nam, director of the international department of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, also met with Trung the same day to discuss ways to strengthen party-to-party ties.
Kim said the Workers' Party would further enhance exchanges and cooperation with the Communist Party of Vietnam, while Trung reaffirmed Hanoi's "steadfast position" to elevate the firmly established Vietnam-North Korea friendship.
The two sides discussed strengthening political ties between the two ruling parties and reached a consensus on issues of mutual concern, KCNA said.
North Korea's foreign ministry hosted a reception banquet for the Vietnamese delegation later in the evening.
The visit by the Vietnamese envoy comes as bilateral relations have gained momentum since Lâm visited Pyongyang in October last year and held talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, marking the first visit to the North by a Vietnamese top leader in 18 years.
The trip also comes after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung paid a state visit to Vietnam from April 21-24, raising attention over the possibility that Viet Nam could play a mediating role between the two Koreas.
Lâm visited South Korea in August last year as the first state guest of the Lee administration, while Lee became the first foreign leader to make a state visit to Viet Nam following his inauguration in June last year.
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