Seoul, April 15 North Korea's economy has entered a recovery phase thanks to closer relations with Russia and China, overcoming a period of recession, the unification ministry in Seoul said on Wednesday.
The unification ministry made the assessment in its five-year plan for inter-Korean relations, covering 2026 to 2030, submitted to the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, reports Yonhap news agency.
The unification ministry said that North Korea has "formed and is maintaining cooperative ties" similar to an alliance with Russia, including in high-tech weapons and technology transfers, while seeking a practical recovery in relations with China, a trend that is putting the national economy on a recovery path.
North Korea, in particular, is seeking to boost its "strategic autonomy" and "negotiating power" by leveraging the growing Sino-US rivalry while boosting diplomacy with countries in traditional friendship with the regime, the unification ministry said in its assessment.
The blueprint for inter-Korean relations is drafted every five years, but the latest fifth edition was drawn up after the previous five-year plan, adopted under ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, was shelved after three years of implementation.
The plan outlines, as its core principles, the institutionalisation of the Lee Jae Myung administration's policy to seek "peaceful coexistence" with North Korea, the laying of a foundation for mutual growth, and the pursuit of a Korean Peninsula free of war and nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, the largest umbrella labour unions of North Korea and Russia held talks in Pyongyang and signed an agreement to boost cooperation, the North's state media said on Wednesday.
Ri Won-jong, head of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea, and Sergei Chernogayev, head of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, signed a memorandum of understanding on friendship and cooperation during talks in Pyongyang the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
"The talks discussed ways to expand and strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the two countries' trade unions in line with the North Korea-Russia friendship, which has entered a new stage," the KCNA said.
A delegation from the Russian trade union, which has a reported membership of 19 million workers, has been visiting North Korea since Monday.
The move came as the two countries have aligned closely in various sectors following the North's deployment of troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, which has also led to Russia providing vital military technology and resources to Pyongyang.
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