Russia's foreign ministry said Pyongyang and Moscow have agreed to sternly respond to Washington's hegemonic policy that destabilizes the state of affairs in the Asia-Pacific.

The ministry said such an agreement was reached during Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov's two-day visit to Pyongyang that ended on Thursday, where he held talks with his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son-hui.

The ministers exchanged views of concern pertaining to the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia and reaffirmed their nations’ will to resolve political and diplomatic issues in the region and jointly strive to ease tensions.

The ministry said the two sides closely discussed ways to develop bilateral relations, including political contacts, with a particular focus on enforcing previous agreements from the summit of their two leaders in April 2019 and in September this year.

The statement is an apparent indication that the ministers likely discussed a reciprocal visit to Pyongyang by Russian President Vladimir Putin following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's previous visits to Russia.

The ministry also said the two sides addressed the revitalization of cooperation in increasing bilateral trade as they seek to overcome the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Photo : YONHAP News]