Top diplomats of N. Korea, Russia discuss bilateral ties in Moscow

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has met her Russian counterpart in Moscow to discuss ways to bolster bilateral ties and beef up cooperation, state media reported Thursday. Choe held talks with Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, on Tuesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). They had "useful" exchanges of opinions in a bid to bolster bilateral relations in various fields in accordance with a new partnership treaty between the two nations, and further strengthen mutual cooperation on the international stage, the KCNA said. Choe left Pyongyang on Monday to attend the fourth Eurasian Women's Forum and the first BRICS Women's Forum that kicked off Wednesday to run until Friday in St. Petersburg. After summit talks in Pyongyang in June, Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a new comprehensive partnership treaty that includes a mutual defense clause. Sergei Shoigu, the head of Russia's Security Council and former Russian defense minister, visited Pyongyang last wee k to meet with the North Korean leader to mark the first anniversary of the summit talks between Kim and Putin at the Vostochny space center in Russia's Far East. Source: Yonhap News Agency