Jo Yong-won, front row center, chairman of the standing committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly, and Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, front row fifth from right, pose for a photo with other officials in Pyongyang, Friday, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency the following day. Yonhap
A top official of North Korea’s rubber-stamp legislature met Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung for talks in Pyongyang earlier this week, the North’s state media reported Saturday.
Jo Yong-won, chairman of the standing committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly, met Trung, Friday, during his visit to the country as Vietnamese President To Lam’s special envoy, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The KCNA dispatch did not offer details of the talks, which included North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Pak Sang-gil and Vietnamese Ambassador to North Korea Le Ba Vinh, but noted that it took place in a “friendly atmosphere.”
Jo is considered a top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and one of the most influential officials in Pyongyang.
Trung arrived in Pyongyang, Tuesday, and met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui the next day.
His visit came amid warming ties between the two countries following a summit between Lam and Kim in Pyongyang in October, which marked the first visit by a top Vietnamese leader to the North in 18 years.