SEOUL, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Tuesday to build an alternative settlement system with North Korea that will not be controlled by Western countries, as Moscow and Pyongyang seek to upgrade bilateral ties to a higher level.

Putin made the remark in an article contributed to the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s main newspaper, as he was set to make his first visit to North Korea in 24 years Tuesday for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“We are firmly convinced that we will put bilateral cooperation onto a higher level with our joint efforts,” Putin said.

He said Russia and North Korea will develop alternative systems for trade and mutual settlements not strained by Western countries and jointly oppose their “illegitimate” restrictive measures.

Putin appears to indicate that Russia and North Korea, both under international sanctions, could develop trade and settlement schemes that will not be affected by the U.S. dollar-based international financial system.

He also said Russia is plannin
g to build an “equal and indivisible” security structure in Eurasia. He did not disclose other details.

Russia will ramp up exchanges and cooperation with North Korea in such areas as education, tourism and culture, Putin said.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin is expected to sign “important” documents with the North’s leader Wednesday that will likely include a treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.

Putin also extended his appreciation to North Korea for supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine and voiced his support for North Koreans’ struggle to defend their sovereignty against “the cunning, dangerous and aggressive enemy.”

“We highly appreciate that the DPRK is firmly supporting the special military operations of Russia being conducted in Ukraine, expressing solidarity with us on major international issues and maintaining the common line and stand at the U.N.,” Putin said.

Putin’s two-day trip is a reciprocal visit after Kim traveled to Russia’s Far East
in September last year for the summit with Putin.

It will mark Putin’s first trip to North Korea since July 2000, when he met with former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the late father of the current leader.

North Korea’s newspaper also issued a welcoming message for Putin in its editorial piece, saying that his trip will pave the way for the two nations to upgrade their friendly ties to a “new high level.”

South Korea’s unification ministry said Putin’s trip to North Korea has a similar pattern to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2019 state visit to Pyongyang.

Putin has also become the second foreign leader who has written a contribution published by the Rodong Sinmun ahead of his visit to North Korea after Xi, a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

“If there is progress, Russia appears to intend to strengthen the status of the ruble in the dollar-centered international financial system,” the official said when asked about Putin’s remarks on alternative schemes for trade and settl
ements.

North Korea and Russia held a meeting of a joint economic committee in June 2014 in Vladivostok, where the two sides agreed to use the Russian currency of ruble in their mutual trade.

But there has been little progress over the issue as North Korea prefers the U.S. dollar, while Russia’s trade with Pyongyang has remained small, according to sources.

Source: Yonhap News Agency