Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested what newly-appointed North Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Ri Sung Guk should do to contribute to fostering bilateral cooperation between Hanoi and Pyongyang at their meeting on Saturday.

PM Chinh hosted a reception in Hanoi on Saturday for Ambassador Ri, who came to greet the government chief on the occasion of starting his term in Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Chinh congratulated Ri on his appointment and lauding North Korea for sending an experienced diplomat to work in Vietnam, which shows the importance the Northeast Asian country attaches to its relationship with Vietnam.

The prime minister expressed confidence that Ambassador Ri, with his extensive experience, would play a key role in strengthening and advancing the traditional friendship between the two countries.

Chinh also highlighted the longstanding relationship, originally fostered by Vietnam’s President Ho Chi Minh and North Korean President Kim Il Sung, and recalled how it has been preserved, inherited, and promoted by successive generations of leaders and citizens from both nations.

In that spirit, the Vietnamese government leader expressed his expectation that Ambassador Ri would closely coordinate with relevant Vietnamese agencies to continue bolstering political trust and mutual understanding through delegation exchanges, and launch activities toward celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2025.

The diplomat is also expected to contribute to enhancing economic cooperation between the two countries and help revive the meeting mechanism of the Vietnam-North Korea Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Scientific, and Technological Cooperation, which is co-chaired by Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and North Korea’s Ministry of External Economic Relations.

In addition, Ri should engage in expanding cooperation in culture, arts, sports, and people-to-people exchanges between the two nations, the PM stated.

Ambassador Ri told the host that he was deeply impressed with Vietnam's important achievements in many fields and its expansion of external relations with various countries in the world, all helping enhance the Southeast Asian country’s position in the international arena.

The diplomat expressed his belief that Vietnam, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, will achieve the goal of becoming a high-income developed country by 2045.

He affirmed North Korea’s consistent stance on beefing up its bilateral cooperation with Vietnam, promising to do his best to contribute to further promoting the development of the traditional friendship relations between the two countries.

Ri’s appointment was announced by the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 30, after years of delay due to North Korea's COVID-19-related border shutdown, according to The Gioi & Viet Nam (World & Vietnam) newspaper under the Vietnamese foreign ministry.

The position had remained vacant since Ri’s predecessor, Kim Myong Gil, returned to North Korea in April 2019.

From that time until Ri’s appointment, all activities of the North Korean Embassy in Vietnam were overseen by Ri Ho Jun, who served as charge d'affaires ad interim.

Vietnam and North Korea established diplomatic relations on January 31, 1950.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Hanoi in late February 2019 to attend the U.S.-North Korea summit and pay a two-day official visit to Vietnam.

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