NK weekly-external news
Summary of external news of North Korea this week
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news on North Korea this week.
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Chinese officials visit N. Korean tourism zone for Lunar New Year
SEOUL -- China's Ambassador to North Korea Wang Yajun and other embassy officials have visited a beach resort area in North Korea on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, state media reported Sunday, raising views on whether Pyongyang is seeking to attract Chinese tourists.
Wang and other members of the Chinese Embassy in North Korea attended the friendly meeting that took place at the Wonsan-Kalma beach resort area the previous day, also attended by the North's Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-ho, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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N. Korea's Kim expresses desire to strengthen ties with Serbia in letter to president
SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday sent a congratulatory letter to Serbia's president, expressing hope to advance bilateral relations, the North's foreign ministry said.
The letter, addressed to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, was sent on the country's Statehood Day, which commemorates the outbreak of the first Serbian uprising in 1804 against Ottoman rule, according to the ministry's website.
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China, Russia send congratulations to N. Korea over party congress opening
SEOUL -- China and Russia, traditionally aligned with North Korea, have sent congratulatory letters to the North in recognition of its opening of the first congress of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in five years, state media reported Friday.
Dmitry Medvedev, chief of the ruling United Russia party, sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday, which was followed the next day by a letter from the central committee of China's Communist Party, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
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