Russia's ruling party affirms support for NK's measures to bolster defense capabilities

Russia's ruling United Russia party on Thursday expressed "firm support" for measures taken by North Korea to bolster its defense capabilities in a joint statement with the regime's ruling party, the North's state media reported. Ri Hi-yong, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, and Vladimir Yakushev, United Russia's secretary-general, signed the joint statement on behalf of their parties, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Both sides shared the views that "the mounting political and military tension on the Eurasian continent and the rest of the world is ... directly linked to the aggressive politics of the West ... to realize overall hegemonism," the joint statement said. "In this regard, the United Russia Party expressed firm support for the measures taken by the leadership of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to bolster up the country's defense capabilities," it said. The statement did not specify which measures it was referring to, but it appears to acknowledge North Korea's nuclear weapons development. "Both sides reached a consensus ...Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times