Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he plans to visit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and will meet the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Sunday.
"I am going to visit the DPRK and meet HE Kim Jong Un," Assad said on May 30, KCNA news agency reported but did not specify a date for the meeting.
There was no immediate comment from the Syrian president’s office.
Assad made the remarks as he received the credentials of DPRK Ambassador Mun Jong Nam, according to the report.
If the meeting takes place, it would be the first meeting between Kim and another head of state in Pyongyang.
Pyongyang and Damascus maintain good relations, and United Nations monitors have accused DPRK of cooperating with Syria on chemical weapons, a charge the DPRK denies.
Since the beginning of the year, DPRK’s Kim has launched a flurry of diplomatic meetings with leaders in China and the Republic of Korea (ROK), and is scheduled to hold a summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12.
Since taking power in 2011, Kim has not publicly met with another head of state in DPRK.
“The world welcomes the remarkable events in the Korean Peninsula brought about recently by the outstanding political caliber and wise leadership of HE Kim Jong Un,” Assad said, according to KCNA. “I am sure that he will achieve the final victory and realize the reunification of Korea without fail.”
According to ROK's foreign ministry, the DPRK established diplomatic relations with Syria in 1966, opening its embassy in Damascus. Syria opened its mission in Pyongyang in 1969.
Close military cooperation between the two countries began when DPRK sent some 530 troops including pilots, tank drivers and missile personnel to Syria during the Arab-Israeli war in October 1973.
“The Syrian government will as ever fully support all policies and measures of the DPRK leadership and invariably strengthen and develop the friendly ties with the DPRK,” Assad said, as quoted by KCNA.
