Iranian Foreign Minister to Visit North Korea

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is planning to visit North Korea, Iranian state television reported on Sunday, with the date to be announced soon. The report gave no further details. North Korea’s top diplomat, Ri Yong Ho, visited Iran in August as the United States reimposed sanctions against the Islamic Republic following Washington’s withdrawal from the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement. Ri reportedly told Rouhani at the time that the US withdrawal was an “action against international rules and regulations,” and stressed that “North Korea’s strategic policy is to deepen relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and confront unilateralism.” Both countries are facing US pressure and international sanctions to prevent the development of their nuclear missile programs, and the US has designated both as state sponsors of terrorism. US President Donald Trump met with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un during a second summit in February regarding the Asian country’s nuclear program, but it ended abruptly without an agreement.