The Associated Press (AP) has announced it will open a news bureau in Pyongyang.

The U.S. news agency said it signed on Wednesday a memorandum of understanding with the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency on establishing the branch.

The AP said the new operation in Pyongyang would be the “first permanent text and photo bureau operated by a Western news organization in the North Korean capital.”

The AP said the agreement would expand its presence in North Korea to a level unmatched by any other Western news organization. The AP currently operates a video news bureau in Pyongyang, which opened in 2006.