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North Korea officials visit Iran in rare public trip


FILE - Yun Jong Ho, right, North Korean external economic relations minister, is shown at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. Yun is leading a delegation to visit Iran on April 23, 2024.
FILE - Yun Jong Ho, right, North Korean external economic relations minister, is shown at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. Yun is leading a delegation to visit Iran on April 23, 2024.

A North Korean delegation led by the cabinet minister for international trade is visiting Iran, the North's official media said on Wednesday in a rare public report of an exchange between the two countries believed to have secret military ties.

The minister for external economic relations, Yun Jong Ho, left Pyongyang on Tuesday by air leading a ministry delegation to visit Iran, the North's KCNA news agency said. It gave no other details.

North Korea and Iran have long been suspected of cooperating on ballistic missile programs, possibly exchanging technical expertise and components for their manufacture.

Iran has provided ballistic missiles to Russia for use in its war with Ukraine, Reuters reported in February.

North Korea is also suspected of supplying Russia with missiles and artillery, although both countries have denied the allegation.

Yun has previously worked on the country's ties with Syria, according to South Korean government database.

Yun has been active in the country's increasing exchanges with Russia, earlier this month leading a delegation to visit Moscow, according to KCNA.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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