Summary of external news of North Korea this week

NK weekly-external news

Summary of external news of North Korea this week

SEOUL, April 17 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news on North Korea this week.

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Pro-N. Korea paper claims reliance on U.S.-led order risks national interests amid Mideast war

SEOUL -- A pro-North Korea newspaper based in Japan on Monday called for countries to distance themselves from the United States in a bid to defend their national interests amid the U.S.-Iran war and Tehran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Choson Sinbo claimed in its commentary that the blockade of the crucial waterway and volatile oil prices showed that the more countries depend on U.S.-led international order, the greater they could face the risk of their national interests being undermined.

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Russia-occupied region in Ukraine seeks cooperation with N. Korea

SEOUL -- Officials from a Russia-occupied region in Ukraine have held talks with the North Korean ambassador to Russia to discuss ways to seek cooperation in areas including agriculture, the governor of the region has said, in another apparent sign of deepening ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.

Vladimir Saldo, the governor of the Kherson region in Ukraine, disclosed photos that appeared to have been taken at the North Korean Embassy in Moscow recently. Saldo said he held a meeting with the North Korean Ambassador to Russia Sin Hong-chol to discuss possible cooperation, with a focus on agriculture and humanitarian exchange.

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