• Russia Willing to Build Railways If N.Korea Gives Up Nukes
  Russia is willing to construct gas pipes, electrical power networks and railways that could bridge the two Koreas and Russia if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons. This is according to Russian Ambassador to South Korea Konstantin Vnukov, who told Yonhap News that the proposal could be included in the idea of the "grand bargain," which was proposed by President Lee Myung-bak as a comprehensive rewards package for North Korea if it abandons its nuclear program. The South Korean government responded positively to Russia's overture, saying the deal can be reviewed when the six-party talks resume.
• Sakhalin Koreans Foiled in Campaign to Come Home
  By Andrei Lankov Korea Times Columnist SAKHALIN ? For decades, Sakhalin Koreans had a dream. They wanted to go home, to South Korea. Back in the 1930s and early 1940s, most of them did not want to go to Sakhalin in the first place, and even those who did assumed that their stay would be short. However, in 1945 they were locked on the island. By the early 1970s, this desire for repatriation was cooling down. Most were reconciled with their fate, and some positively enjoyed it. However, in 1974 a sudden change in the situation led to a revival of hope ? with tragic consequences, however. The Soviet authorities for a brief while came close to allowing the repatriation and then changed their mind.
• Russian History Textbook Includes Criticism of N.Korea
  A negative image of North Korea appears to have been included in a Russian history textbook approved by Moscow's education ministry this year. According to the Yonhap News Agency an 11th grade history text to be introduced in this year's new semester was compiled by three professors at Moscow State University and contains details of the Kim Il-sung regime during the 1960s and 70s as well as Kim Jong-il's nuclear weapons programs.
  In contrast to its negative portrait of the North, the book presents South Korea's economic and industrial development as admirable.
• Russia welcomes intention of N Korea, US to hold dialogue
  06.10.2009, 14.42 MOSCOW, October 6 (Itar-Tass) - Russia has welcomed as positive the intention of North Korea and the United States to hold a bilateral dialogue as well as Pyongyang’s readiness to resume the six-party talks on nuclear dossier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin told Itar-Tass on Tuesday. [Bilateral] [Six Party Talks]
• N. Korean Mirage Collapses in Sakhalin
  This is the second in a series of articles highlighting the life of Koreans in Sakhalin. By Andrei Lankov Korea Times Columnist Nowadays, it's difficult to believe that North Korea, a brutal but impoverished dictatorship, once enjoyed great popularity among Asian countries and also in Korean communities overseas. Indeed, in the mid-1950s most ethnic Koreans of Japan chose North Korean citizenship, even though they largely originated from the southern part of the peninsula.
• N.Korean Workers Earn Dollars for Construction Work in Russia
  Some of the North Koreans building this luxury house in Vladivostok, Russia were doctors and soldiers back home. Some of the North Koreans building this luxury house in Vladivostok, Russia were doctors and soldiers back home. With the international community tightening economic sanctions on North Korean entities for their alleged involvement in nuclear and weapons activities, Pyongyang is ever more eager to earn hard currency. One of the few options for the regime to get foreign dollars is to rely on its own labor exports. VOA's Korean Service reporter Young Ran-jeon recently visited Vladivostok, Russia and filed this report voiced by Kate Woodsome. Pseudonyms were used to protect the workers interviewed for this story.
• Russia Sought to Send Koreans to NK in 1947
  By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff Reporter The government of the former Soviet Union had planned to forcibly relocate some 22,000 Koreans living in Sakhalin to North Korea in the late 1940s, according to documents released by the National Archives of Korea (NAK), Friday. The document was among the 1,256 pages making up 214 confidential documents compiled by the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The NAK received the documents from the Russian national archive after requesting their declassification several times since 2005. "The document officially verifies the plan to relocate Koreans in Sakhalin to North Korea, information which had been unconfirmed before this," an NAK official said. "However, it did not identify whether they were actually sent to the North or how many of them were sent." [Japanese colonialism]
• S.Korea, Russia to discuss laying gas pipeline across N.Korea
  Alexey Nikolskiy 18:4430/07/2009 MOSCOW, July 30 (RIA Novosti) - South Korea's economics minister along with oil and gas executives will visit Russia in August to discuss the possibility of laying a gas pipeline across North Korea, the Maeil business daily said on Thursday. During his visit, Lee Youn-Ho will meet with Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko. The talks will involve the heads of the Korea Gas Corporation and Korea National Oil Corporation. The countries hope to be able to pump natural gas from Yakutia in the Russian Far East to South Korea directly via the North. However, all economic projects between the two Koreas are currently frozen. According to information from the South Korean government, Russia is set to supply 750 metric tons of natural gas annually to South Korea for 30 years, to meet about 20% of the country's gas demand. The talks in Moscow are also expected to focus on an action plan for the joint development of oil and gas deposits, and also the development of offshore deposits to the west of Kamchatka in the Russian Far East, the paper said.
• Future of Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces
  In the Wake of Obama's Moscow Visit
  By General Leonid Ivashov
  Global Research, July 19, 2009 Now that US President Obama's visit to Moscow is over, what do we have at the bottom line? First, the summit produced a framework document defining the number of strategic carriers quite broadly (500-1,100) and the number of nuclear warheads – in a narrower corridor (1,500-1,675). The limits are set by the US and Russian Presidents for their negotiating teams and can easily be adjusted in case the sides reach another consensus on the issue. Secondly, Presidents Obama and Medvedev discussed the future of the US missile defense, but this part of the talks led to no definite agreements. All that was said was that the existing viewpoints would have to be taken into account. Moreover, by default the examination of missile defense was limited to just two – and not even the most important – of the hundreds of elements it actually comprises. There were indefinite suggestions to go on discussing the possibility to cooperate in building the missile shield, jointly analyzing the XXI century missile challenges, and monitoring missile programs across the world. As a clear reference to North Korea and Iran, the two Presidents warned all the countries having missile potentials against missile technology proliferation. Thirdly, Russia allowed the US Air Forces to use its airspace, leaving the general public oblivious to details of the deal.
  The above are the practical results of the Moscow summit. Can the Russian side be satisfied with the parameters of the agreement on carriers and warheads? Yes and no at the same time. Given the current situation in the nuclear arms sphere (the condition of Russia's strategic nuclear forces, the level of development of the US missile defense and precision weapons, the magnitude of the return potential concealed by the START-1 Treaty) Russia should regard 1,700 warheads as the critical minimum. Why? Estimates show that with this number of warheads and the corresponding number of carriers the Russian nuclear forces can retain functionality after an attack by US high-precision weapons, launch on warning before nuclear warheads carried by US ballistic missiles reach Russia, penetrate the US missile defense (with some 800-1,000 warheads) and inflict unacceptable damage on the US. This is the essence of the nuclear deterrence. [Nuclear weapons]
• Moscow hopes N. Korea stops nuclear tests, starts talks – Lavrov
  19:0423/06/2009 VIENNA, June 23 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow hopes international talks on Korea's nuclear problem will be resumed shortly and is waiting for Pyongyang to confirm that it will stop all nuclear tests, the Russian foreign minister said on Tuesday. "We are concerned by the deadlock that has evolved, primarily due to North Korea's unacceptable actions," Sergei Lavrov said. He said the UN Security Council had tightened sanctions on North Korea not to punish it but to encourage the impoverished communist state to return to the negotiating table and fulfill its obligations. He added, however, that the talks could only be resumed "after North Korea confirmed that it will conduct no more nuclear tests." [Test]
• Russia: News Conference following Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit
  President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, As president of the nation that just turned over its chairmanship of the SCO, I would like to tell you about some of the outcomes of our work within the meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State. I would like to make a few general remarks before moving on to questions.
  We discussed other regional problems, including North Korea and some of the threatening statements it has recently made. We also noted that its behaviour is unacceptable in today’s situation and that the international community had to respond by adopting a corresponding [UN] Security Council resolution. [test] [Sanctions]
• Russia says new UN resolution should not impose isolation on DPRK
  www.chinaview.cn 2009-05-26 16:37:31 MOSCOW, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Russia believes that a new UN resolution on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) should not impose an international isolation or blockade on the country, the Itar-Tass news agency reported Tuesday, citing a source with the Russian Foreign Ministry. "In any case it is counterproductive to raise the question of the DPRK's international isolation. The path to dialogue should not be disrupted, and the problem can be solved only in political and diplomatic ways," an unidentified official was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass. "The reaction must be sufficiently serious because the authority of the Security Council is at stake," said the diplomat. On the one hand, the reaction should be clear enough, on the other, it should not envision an international isolation or blockade, he said. [test] [Sanctions]
• Russia-China Strategic Relations Warm in Wake of Mounting Russian Tensions with NATO/US
  M K Bhadrakumar
  Westernism is giving way to Orientalism in Moscow's outlook, if the past week's happenings are any guide. As Russia's ties with the West deteriorate, an upswing in its strategic partnership with China becomes almost inevitable. The resumption of Russia-NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) dialogue has gone awry. And the nascent hopes regarding a "reset of the button" of the Russian-American relationship are belied. With Moscow under multiple pressures from the West, two top Chinese officials have arrived in the Russian capital to offer support - Defense Minister Liang Guanglie and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. [SCO]
• Russia Offers Use of Territory for N.Korean Satellite Launches
  Russia is a member of the six-party talks aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program. It has often sided with China to prevent tough UN sanctions against Pyongyang.
  During his trip to the region last month, Sergei Lavrov made a little-noted statement. Speaking through an interpreter, he said Moscow is willing to help Pyongyang launch satellites into space from its territory. "Russia is cooperating with many countries in the peaceful exploration of space, including launching satellites by our boosters. We have such agreements with South Korea and we are ready to develop similar projects with North Korea, and hope our proposal will be examined," said Lavrov. [Satellite]
• No breakthrough yet
  April 25, 2009 South Korea’s Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan (right) meets Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last night at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul. Lavrov on Thursday met his North Korean counterpart Pak Ui-chun. North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Russia “took note” of the North’s intention to never again participate in the six-party nuclear disarmament talks. “We’re not expecting a breakthrough yet,” Lavrov told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. KCNA also reported that Russia “recognized that a satellite launch is the sovereign right of each country,” referring to the North’s April 5 launch. [NEWSIS]
• Foreign Ministry Spokesman on Russian FM's Visit to DPRK
  Pyongyang, April 24 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA Friday as regards the Russian foreign minister's visit to the DPRK: The Russian foreign minister and his party visited the DPRK on April 23 and 24 as part of exchanges for significantly marking this year in which falls the 60th anniversary of the conclusion of agreement on economic and cultural cooperation between the DPRK and Russia under the agreement reached between the two ministries toward the end of last year. During his visit the Russian foreign minister paid a courtesy call on the president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly and had talks with the DPRK foreign minister. The talks and meetings dealt with the matters on boosting the traditional, friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries, and agreement was reached there. Also discussed at the talks was the prevailing situation after the release of the UN Security Council's "presidential statement" critical of the DPRK's satellite launch for peaceful purposes.
  Both sides recognized that satellite launch is a sovereign right of each country.
  The Russian side reconfirmed its stand on the UN sanctions against the DPRK and paid attention to the DPRK's stand that there is no need to hold the six-party talks any longer. [Sanctions] [Satellite]
• Russian Official Visits N.Korea in Attempt to Break Nuclear Deadlock
  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (left) shakes hands with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kung Sok Ung upon arrival in Pyongyang on April 23, 2009. Russia's top diplomat says he is paying a visit to North Korea, in hopes of easing the North's resistance to talking to its neighbors. The North has pulled out of nuclear weapons talks and continues to detain South Korean and American nationals on political charges. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned other countries not to expect any breakthroughs from his visit to the North Korean capital.
• Talks Held between DPRK and Russian FMs
  Pyongyang, April 23 (KCNA) -- Talks were held between Pak Ui Chun, foreign minister of the DPRK, and Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov, foreign minister of the Russian Federation, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall today. Present at the talks from the DPRK side were officials concerned and from the Russian side Lavrov's party and the Russian ambassador to the DPRK. At the talks both sides exchanged views on developing the relations between the two countries and a series of matters of mutual concern. [Media]
• Plan of Cultural and Scientific Exchange between DPRK and Russian Governments Signed
  Pyongyang, April 23 (KCNA) -- A 2009-2010 plan of cultural and scientific exchange between the governments of the DPRK and Russia was signed in Pyongyang on Thursday. Present at the signing ceremony from the DPRK side were Mun Jae Chol, acting chairman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, and officials concerned and from the Russian side Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov, foreign minister of the Russian Federation, and his party and Valery Sukhinin, Russian ambassador to the DPRK. It was inked by Mun Jae Chol and Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov
• Russian FM to Visit N.Korea This Month
  Russia is to send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to North Korea to persuade the renegade country to return to talks on its nuclear program. Russian government officials on Thursday said Lavrov will fly to Pyongyang around April 24 for a two-day stay and will tell his North Korean counterpart Pak Ui-chun of the Russian government's position that it is essential for the North to return to the six-party talks.
• First Red Koreans
  By Andrei Lankov [The Dawn of Modern Korea] (513) In the early 1920s, everybody in the maritime province of Russia knew one fact very well: the local Koreans were for the Reds. The country was still in the middle of a civil war, and the communist guerrillas knew that their chances of finding food and shelter in a Korean village were high ? actually, much higher than in a Russian village. Koreans were very likely to be Communist sympathizers, but why? To start with, prior to 1917, the vast majority of the large Russian-Korean community did not care much about Russian politics. Most of the Koreans were farmers who had fled their home country because of rampant corruption, high taxes, and a shortage of arable land. In Russia they were doing well, and were quite content with that. The Korean intellectuals in Russia usually remained immersed in Korean political and social life. Most of them were political refugees who moved to the Russian maritime province after 1905, fleeing the Japanese colonial regime. They were frequently involved in politics, but it was the politics of the Korean independence movement. Until the 1930s it was quite possible for a Korean to spend years in Russia without coming into much contact with Russian society. Koreans lived in their villages, attended Korean-language schools, read Korean books and newspapers, and shopped in Korean stores. This situation is dramatically different from the circumstances of most Korean communities today. In a sense, one had to make a special effort, not to maintain one's ethnic identity, but rather to assimilate oneself into Russian culture. Nonetheless, the potential political sympathies of the Russian Koreans became absolutely clear with the advent of the Communist Revolution in 1917. The revolution was followed by the Civil War which lasted to 1922, and during this conflict few ethnic groups supported the Communist Red Army with the same devotion and enthusiasm as the Koreans. Some 8,000 Koreans joined the Red forces. This might not appear to be a large number, but the ethnic Korean community was roughly 100,000 strong in 1917, so it means that roughly one out of four able-bodied males joined the Communist army.
• A Sturdier Russia Beckons Its Children Home
  By CLIFFORD J. LEVY Published: March 21, 2009 VLADIVOSTOK, Russia — Vasily Reutov had never set foot in Russia until a few months ago, but the moment he did, he knew he had finally made it home. His ancestors, members of an ascetic offshoot of Russian Orthodoxy known as Old Believers, fled this region in the 1920s after the Communist Party violently suppressed religion. They settled in cloistered villages in South America that they turned into Little Russias, as if by preserving the ways of the past, they would somehow, someday, be able to return. Now, with Russia itself beckoning and sturdier than before, that time has come. The government is trying to head off the country’s severe population decline by luring back Russians who live abroad as well as their descendants. [Migration]
• FM Meets Delegation of Russian Foreign Ministry
  Pyongyang, January 29 (KCNA) -- Minister of Foreign Affairs Pak Ui Chun met and had a talk with the delegation of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation headed by its Vice-Minister Aleksei Borodavkin when it paid a courtesy call on him at the Mansudae Assembly Hall Thursday.
• North Korea's Military Action Is Intolerable, Russian Amb. Says
  Russia will not tolerate any kind of military threat from North Korea, the Russian ambassador said Wednesday, warning its long-time ally, which proclaimed an ``all-out war posture'' against South Korea last week. Speaking at the World Korean Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Ambassador Gleb A. Ivashentsov, said, ``We oppose a missile test or nuclear activity by North Korea near our border. When it carried out a nuclear test in October 2006, the site was only 177 kilometers away from Russian territory.'' The forum was hosted by the Korean Global Foundation and supported by www.hankooki.com.

2008

• Condolences Expressed over Death of Russian Patriarch
  Pyongyang, December 8 (KCNA) -- Jang Jae On, chairman of the Korean Council of Religionists, and Ho Il Jin, chairman of the Korean Orthodox Church Committee, on Monday sent messages of condolences to Chairman of the Office of Foreign Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill who is patriarch of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Regions over the death of Patriarch Alexy II of the Russian Orthodox Church. His death is a great loss for the Russian Orthodox Church and people, the messages said, praying for the immortality of the deceased.
• (Presidential) Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
  President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Citizens of Russia
  November 5, 2008, Grand Kremlin Palace, Moscow
• S. Korea and Russia agree to pursue natural gas pipeline
  Pipeline could run through North Korea, bringing the country US$100 million in income, and would reduce gas prices in the South South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met at the Kremlin September 29 and agreed to jointly pursue a project that would bring Russian natural gas to Korea beginning in 2015. The two sides agreed to elevate bilateral relations to the level of a strategic cooperative partnership and issued a ten-point statement.
• DPRK FM and His Party Leave for Russia
  Pyongyang, October 14 (KCNA) -- DPRK Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun and his party left here today to visit Russia. They were seen off at the airport by Kung Sok Ung, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, and Valery Sukhinin, Russian ambassador to the DPRK.
• The Russians are coming — loaded with cash
  By Sergei Guriev and Aleh Tsyvinski Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008 MOSCOW — Russia's government is sitting on a giant pile of cash that it plans to invest in foreign assets. The glimpse of its economic muscle was revealed when the prime minister of Iceland announced that Russia may come with about $5 billion to save its troubled economy. Who could have thought that, given the chaotic Russia of the 1990s, only 10 years later it would be in the position to bail out a developed country? Even more surprising is the fact that the helping hand for Iceland comes at a time when the domestic stock market is in a free fall and trading on the Moscow stock exchange is routinely halted. The Kremlin thinks that now is the time to buy assets cheaply, using the current financial crisis to emerge as a powerful global economic player. As Prime Minister Vladimir Putin remarked at a recent meeting with the CEO of state-owned bank VTB, "Perhaps we should buy something (abroad)? Something that is up for grabs?" According to Arkady Dvorkovich, an economic aide to President Dmitry Medvedev, the government will support — both diplomatically and financially — the expansion of Russian companies abroad.
  The key benefit of Russian foreign investment is not economic, but that it helps Russia become a global citizen. Consider Russia's elites, who buy houses in London, ski in the Alps, and educate their children in Switzerland. They have too much to lose from a worsening political climate between Russia and the West. It is time to make Russia's big business — and its government — stakeholders in the world economy. [Decline] [resurgence] [Globalisation]
• Improved relations with Russia
  [Editorial]   President Lee Myung-bak and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met yesterday and decided to elevate relations to the level of strategic cooperative partnership from that of a constructive partnership. The two countries will increase the level of their discussions and cooperation in all areas, including economics, diplomacy, security, and politics. One feels as if Russia is again coming closer, having grown considerably distant from the Korean Peninsula since the fall of the Soviet Union.
  The Russo-Korean summit signals the completion of President Lee’s tour of the "big four powers" (the United States, China, Japan and Russia). Compared to relations with the United States, Japan, and China, countries with which there remain many uncertainties, relations with Russia seem to be smooth sailing. The fact the two countries have almost no directly conflicting security interests contributes positively to the relationship. This is a time when we should cooperate in a substantial way that corresponds to the strategic partnership.
• Russia to Talk to N. Korea About Pipeline to S. Korea
  By Shinhye Kang Bloomberg SEOUL — South Korea plans to import $90 billion of natural gas from Russia via North Korea, with which it shares one of the world’s most heavily fortified borders, to reduce its reliance on more expensive cargoes arriving by sea. State-run Korea Gas signed a preliminary agreement with Gazprom, Russia’s largest energy company, to import 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas over 30 years starting in 2015, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement. The accord was signed in Moscow during President Lee Myung Bak’s three-day visit that began Sunday. Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller said after talks Monday between Lee and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that the exact delivery route hasn’t been determined and that shipments could begin as early as 2015. [Resurgence] [Realignment]
• Russia to offer exclusive Korean port, factory site
  October 01, 2008 MOSCOW - Expressing satisfaction after talks with Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday, President Lee Myung-bak said yesterday that Seoul and Moscow have agreed to build a port at Vladivostok exclusively for Korea. [Resurgence] [Realignment]
• Korea, Russia Agree to Forge Closer Energy Ties
    President Lee Myung-bak and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev met at the Kremlin on Monday afternoon to discuss released expanding cooperation in political, diplomacy, defense and the economy.
• Korea Backs Russia’s WTO Membership
  By Na Jeong-ju Staff Reporter South Korea and Russia agreed Monday to upgrade their relations to a strategic partnership to accelerate two-way cooperation on North Korea's nuclear program and the development of natural resources and aerospace technologies. President Lee Myung-bak, who is on a three-day visit to Russia, and President Dmitry Medvedev adopted a joint statement calling for closer diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries following their summit in Moscow. [Realignment]
• N. Korea, Russia to Redraw Border Along Tumen River
  By Kim Sue-young Staff Reporter North Korea and Russia will redraw their border along the Tumen River as the terrain has changed over time, a report said Thursday. The two countries first discussed the matter in Pyongyang in 2000.
• SuperJet-100: A Hopeful Test Flight
  MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - The first flight of the SuperJet-100, Sukhoi's new medium-haul passenger airliner, offers hope that Russia's program to resurrect its civil aviation industry may yet succeed. Completion of the 40-minute test flight allowed the Sukhoi Aviation Holding to strike deals for delivery of another 27 planes, bringing its order portfolio to 100 airliners. The bulk of these aircraft will be sold abroad, but more important for Russians is the fact that the rest will be purchased by domestic carriers, augmenting Russia's significantly deteriorated air fleet. The SuperJet-100 is the first civilian airplane to be launched into mass production since the disintegration of the USSR. Two decades ago the civilian air fleet was the pride of the country, with the Soviet Union producing a quarter of the world's civil airliners, and new aircraft developed by the Tupolev, Ilyushin, Antonov and Yakovlev design bureaus fascinating visitors at international air shows. Now it's all gone. Since the late 80's the industry has steadily sunk into crisis, with plants falling idle, equipment aging, and thousands of engineers and workers forced to look for a different occupation. This resulted in production output decreasing to single planes, air fleet numbers falling due to natural wear and tear, and the airline system shrinking dramatically. In 1990 Russian airlines carried 103 million passengers, in the past year only 45 million. Currently there are 5,700 aircraft registered in Russia, less than half of which actually fly. The bulk of the operable planes became obsolete long ago - only one tenth of them can be regarded as modern. The average age of long-distance airliners is over 17, and that of medium-haul aircraft over 30.
• Russia’s ‘Power Politics’ and North Korea
  By Leonid Petrov
  August 7th, 2008 Leonid Petrov, Research Associate at the Australian National University, writes, “In this light, Russian-Korean relations can be seen as based on a solid footing and replete with opportunities that can benefit each of them. The new administrations in the Kremlin and Seoul’s “Blue House”, together with the new generation of leaders in Pyongyang, can radically change the political climate in the region. A simple strengthening of economic relationships between the three countries will contribute to the peaceful solution of the “Korean nuclear problem” and prepare the basis for durable peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia.”
• Wrong on Russia
  By Stephen F. Cohen Published: July 1, 2008 Neither of the two major American presidential candidates has seriously addressed, or even seems fully aware of, what should be our greatest foreign policy concern - Russia's singular capacity to endanger or enhance our national security. Despite its diminished status following the Soviet breakup in 1991, Russia alone possesses weapons that can destroy the United States, a military-industrial complex nearly America's equal in exporting arms, vast quantities of questionably secured nuclear materials sought by terrorists, and the planet's largest oil and natural gas reserves. It also remains the world's largest territorial country, pivotally situated in the West and the East, at the crossroads of colliding civilizations, with strategic capabilities from Europe, Iran and other Middle East nations to North Korea, China, India, Afghanistan and even Latin America. All things considered, our national security may depend more on Russia than Russia's does on us. And yet U.S.-Russian relations are worse today than they have been in 20 years
  During the last eight years, Putin's foreign policies have been largely a reaction to Washington's winner-take-all approach to Moscow since the early 1990s, which resulted from a revised U.S. view of how the cold war ended. In that new triumphalist narrative, America "won" the 40-year conflict and post-Soviet Russia was a defeated nation analogous to post-World War II Germany and Japan - a nation without full sovereignty at home or autonomous national interests abroad. The policy implication of that bipartisan triumphalism, which persists today,
• S. Korea pushes for Russian helicopter purchase
  The South Korean military is pushing for its plan to buy 32 Kamov (KA-32) helicopters from Russia at a date earlier than anticipated to support landing and infiltration operations for marines ahead of the planned takeover of wartime operational control from the United States. [Military balance] [Sovereignty]
• Misreading Medvedev’s China Mission
  by Yu Bin
  YU Bin is (byu@wittenberg.edu) Senior Fellow for the Shanghai Institute of American Studies and regular contributor to the Pacific Forum’s Comparative Connections (www.csis.org/pacfor/ccejournal.html). No matter how presidential Dymitry Medvedev may act, his late May summit in Beijing has been discounted in the West as routine, unsubstantial, and overshadowed by the meetings of his predecessor, Vladimir Putin. The “growing” conflict of interests between Russia and China over various issues – trade, energy, military sales, to mention a few – has also been the focus of media coverage. In keeping with this image, (now) Prime Minister Putin’s visit to Paris a week after was described as more “presidential” than Medvedev’s east-bound mission. These assessments miss important aspects of the evolving and broadening relations between the two largest nations on the Eurasian continent. [China-Russia relations]
• From Russia, A Cinematic Double Take On WWII Era
  Director Nikita Mikhalkov's original, 1994 movie, "Burnt by the Sun," won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. The sequel is surprisingly different. (By Peter Finn -- The Washington Post) By Peter Finn Washington Post Foreign Service Saturday, May 31, 2008; Page A01 VOISKOVITSY, Russia -- In the 1994 Russian film "Burnt by the Sun," the idyllic life of a family at their country home outside Moscow is smashed on a single day by Stalinism. Fans of the movie, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, are likely to be startled by a coming sequel. And not only because director Nikita Mikhalkov has reanimated characters who appeared to die in the original. The first film, an intimate drama that shimmered with dread, played out almost entirely on a small set. The new movie, part of which is being filmed at this rural railway junction about 30 miles south of St. Petersburg, is a panoramic blockbuster with battle scenes straight out of Hollywood. With a budget of $55 million, it is the most expensive movie in Russian history. In the sequel, the four main characters from the first movie, three of whom were thought to be dead, hurtle unawares toward each other in the furnace of World War II. And Joseph Stalin, hovering unseen like a malign spirit in the first film, steps onto this stage as a speaking character. And what a stage. Mikhalkov, 62, is not making one movie but two full-length films, "Burnt by the Sun 2," Parts 1 and 2, plus a 12-part television series that will track and expand on the material in the two movies. Mikhalkov plans to release the first part of the film version May 9, 2010, the 65th anniversary of victory in World War II. The movie's second part is to be released several months later, with the television version following in 2011 or 2012. "It's an epic in the tradition of war films," said Kirill Razlogov, a leading film scholar and critic in Moscow. "And if the film is a success, I don't think people will care that it's completely different in scope than the original." The memorialization of World War II, which Russians call the Great Patriotic War, has become an almost state-sanctified event increasingly coated in a neo-Soviet historical orthodoxy. [Reassertion]
• Congratulations to Russian PM
  Pyongyang, May 9 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Il, premier of the DPRK Cabinet, sent a congratulatory message to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin on his appointment as Prime Minister of the government of the Russian Federation. Expressing the belief that the DPRK-Russia relations would grow stronger in the interests of the two peoples in the future, too, the message wished him great success in his responsible work for the country's development and prosperity.
• S. Korea, Russia to press ahead with projects involving N. Korea
  SEOUL, April 7 KYODO South Korea's new President Lee Myung Bak and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed Monday to push ahead with efforts to link the trans-Korean railway with the trans-Siberian railway and other tripartite economic cooperation projects involving North Korea, according to local media. Lee and Putin exchanged views on the matter in a telephone conservation in which Lee also sought greater Russian efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, Yonhap News Agency quoted presidential spokesman Lee Dong Kwan as saying. [Railways]
• Rodong Sinmun on DPRK-Russia Relations
  Pyongyang, March 17 (KCNA) -- The conclusion of the agreement on economic and cultural cooperation between the DPRK and the Soviet Union put the DPRK-Russia friendly and cooperative relations on a new stage of development. Rodong Sinmun Monday stresses this in a by-lined article dedicated to the 59th anniversary of the signing of the agreement. The article notes that the historic visits to the Russian Federation and its Far Eastern Region by General Secretary Kim Jong Il in the new century and the visit to the DPRK by Russian President V. V. Putin in 2000 served as a new milestone and the motive force for the overall development of the DPRK-Russia friendly relations including economic and cultural cooperation.
• Russia, India Sign Billion Dollar Deal to Upgrade Indian Fighter Jets
    A fighter jet type Mikojan MIG-29M OVT of the Russian Aircraft Corporation overflies the area of the International Aerospace Exhibition Show in Berlin-Schoenefeld, 13 May 2006      Russian news reports say Moscow has signed a $1 billion deal with India to upgrade more than 60 MIG-29 jet fighters it had previously sold to New Delhi. The reports Tuesday quote sources in Russia's defense manufacturing sector as saying a five-year contract calls for Russia to install new radars, weapons control systems and improved engines. The reports say the upgrade will extend the operational service of the planes by 15 years. Russia has aggressively sought to expand arms sales on the world market, and is currently refurbishing a Soviet-era aircraft carrier set for sale to India in 2011.  
• Congratulations to Russian President-elect
  Pyongyang, March 4 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, on Monday sent a congratulatory message to Dmitri Anatoliyevich Medvedev upon his election as President of the Russian Federation. Expressing the belief that the DPRK-Russia relations will steadily develop in the interests of the two peoples and in the spirit of the joint documents signed between both sides in the future, too, Kim in the message wished the Russian President great success in his responsible work for stability and prosperity of the country.
• North Korea-Russia Relations: A Strained Friendship
  By the International Crisis Group February 7th, 2008
  The International Crisis Group, an independent, non-profit, multinational organization, working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict, writes, “Pyongyang wants Russia to balance China’s growing influence but appears to recognise that Moscow will never provide the level of support it once did. The North has been keen to discuss economic cooperation but has lacked the political will to reform its economy sufficiently for foreign investment, even from a country as inured to corruption and government interference as Russia… there is unlikely to be much growth in bilateral cooperation unless the nuclear crisis is resolved peacefully, and the North opens its economy.”
• Presidential Elections and Russia-Korea Relations
  [Analysis] Prof. Leonid Petrov looks at the future of bilateral ties
  Published 2008-02-22 14:00 (KST) At the end of this month the inauguration of the recently elected President of the Republic of Korea will take place in Seoul. Russia is poised for its own presidential elections in early March. In North Korea (formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK), it has been reported, the grooming of a new leader is already under way. Nevertheless, the dynamics of relations between Russia and the two Koreas will depend not so much on personalities but on the joint efforts of the sides.
• Korea’s Russia Trade Booming, Chinese Market Cools
  Korea’s exports to Russia are robust but Korean products have lost their competitive edge in China. The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) on Wednesday said trade between Korea and Russia grew 54 percent last year to US$15.06 billion. Trade with Russia has surged between 34 and 65 percent over the last five years. [China competition]

• Korea's 1st Astronaut to Lift Off Next April
  The time and date have been set for Korea's first astronaut to travel into space. Ko San will depart Earth aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft at the Baikonur Space Center on April 8, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. Korean time. Ko made the announcement to Korean reporters at a press conference in a hotel in Moscow, Russia, along with Yi So-yeon, his backup.
• What Does Putin Want?
  Immanuel Wallerstein
  Commentary No. 221, Nov. 15, 2007
  Is the question, what does Putin want, the same question as what does Russia want? I think the answer is that the answers to the two questions are fairly close. In any case, Putin has not been at all shy about telling us what he wants on behalf of Russia. He used two high-level European conferences recently to spell out exactly what his concerns are. The first was his speech at the 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy on October 2, 2007, in the presence of Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. And the second was at a press conference following the Summit of the European Union in Lisbon on October 26.
  Putin wants, as Russians have wanted for centuries, to be accepted as a principal player in the world-system. He obviously feels that the United States, and even western Europe, used the Yeltsin interlude to ignore Russia. He seems confident that the tide has turned, primarily because of changes in the world-economy. And, confident of the future, Putin lays down his conditions. He appears to be appealing to Europe for active cooperation and to the United States for a de facto military truce. We shall see in the next decade how successful such policies will be.
• DPRK and Russia Cooperate in Commerce and Economy
  Pyongyang, November 14 (KCNA) -- A protocol of the second meeting of the joint working group on cooperation in commerce and economy between the Committee for the Promotion of International Trade of the DPRK and the Sakhalin Regional Administration of Russia was signed here Wednesday. Present at the signing ceremony from the DPRK side were members of the committee and from the Russian side were members of the delegation of the administration and a councilor of the Russian embassy here.
• Plan for Exchange Signed between Foreign Ministries of DPRK and Russia
  Pyongyang, October 21 (KCNA) -- A 2007-2008 plan for exchange between the foreign ministries of the DPRK and Russia was signed in Moscow on October 19. Present at the signing ceremony from the DPRK side were members of the delegation of the DPRK Foreign Ministry headed by Vice-Minister Kung Sok Ung and from the Russian side officials of the Russian Foreign Ministry including Vice-Minister Alexandr Losyukov.
• Stark Differences on Arms Threaten U.S.-Russia Talks
  By THOM SHANKER and STEVEN LEE MYERS
  Published: October 10, 2007 WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 — Growing disagreements over how to carry forward arms control treaties threaten to bog down meetings in Moscow this week between top-level Americans and their Russian counterparts that are intended to seek a compromise on missile defense. The talks, in Moscow, are becoming both the latest indication of the troubled state of relations between the White House and the Kremlin and one of the last opportunities for President Bush and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to overcome the deepening distrust that has strained the relationship.
• Roh says inter-Korean summit accord to accelerate Korea-Siberia rail link
  October 10, 2007 South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said Tuesday (Oct.9) that the latest inter-Korean summit agreement would provide momentum for the connection of the trans-Korean railway, or TKR, with the trans-Siberian railway, known as TSR. Roh made the remarks during his telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Roh's spokesman, Cheon Ho-seon. "Roh called Putin at 5 p.m. and briefed the Russian leader for 20 minutes on the result of the inter-Korean summit talks in Pyongyang last week," said Cheon. [Railways] [KR_summit07]
• Putin Sees No Proof of Iran Arms Plans
  By SOPHIA KISHKOVSKY Published: October 11, 2007 MOSCOW, Oct. 10 — The first bilateral meeting of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France quickly brought to the surface their split views on Iran, with Mr. Putin expressing doubts that Iran was trying to build nuclear weapons [Evidence]
• Russian View on Inter Korean Summit
  By Georgy Bulychev
  Georgy Bulychev, Director for Korean Research Programs, Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Moscow, writes, "if the DPRK gains short-term profits (like fostering her stance vis-à-vis the U.S. and receiving economic aid), the South and other interested countries will gain over the long-term. For the South, it is an important step forward on the way towards normalizing relations with the North and strengthening the common potential of the Korean states. Looking from the angle of regional geopolitics, it would provide for stronger stability and growing interaction and coincide with Russia's priorities." [KR_Summit07]
• Seoul Mulls Russian Helicopters Instead of Debt Deal: US Weekly
  South Korea's Navy is considering obtaining some 30 Russian Kamov Ka-32 utility helicopters as the two countries negotiate Moscow's debt repayment with arms, the U.S. military weekly Defense News reported Monday. Adm. Song Young-moo, chief of naval operations, discussed the plan with Russian officials during his Moscow visit last month, according to the weekly. Song hoped that the Russian aircraft would fly from the 14,000-ton, large-deck landing ship Dokdo for transport missions until South Korea deploys its own copters in 2012 through the Korea Helicopter Program (KHP), it said. [Military balance] [Arms sales]
• Politicus: America's misplaced hopes on Russia
  By John Vinocur Published: September 10, 2007
  WASHINGTON: Suppose the Russians, as Iran's monopoly supplier of nuclear wherewithal, decided they could live with a few atomic weapons in the hands of the mullahs. Suppose the Russians, flush with money and superpower fantasies, believed that weakening and humiliating the United States was well worth the instability that might come with Moscow's refusal to help block Iran's drive toward nuclear arms. Where's the downside? From Vladimir Putin's point of view, it's win-win. With Russia's obstructive tactics encouraging Iran to plunge ahead, he may figure the Americans will eventually strike Iranian nuclear installations. The Yanks would harvest opprobrium in much of the world. Still, if their strike does eradicate the Iranian nuclear program, that's fine, too. Russia's oil and gas prices are sure to shoot up. Russia becomes Iran's key reconstruction contractor, and sets out a rare claim to international righteousness. What's irrational about the above scenario? Or its counterpart, which is that Russian now calculates the United States in the end will sit on its hands concerning Iran? Nothing. Multiple versions of them get discussed within the Bush Administration, all stamped, Non Whacko. It's exemplary of the misery of the American situation. [Imperialism] [In denial]
• Putin Supports Korean Summit
  President Roh Moo-hyun, left, talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit meeting in Sydney, Australia, Sunday. / Korea Times By Kim Yon-se Korea Times Correspondent SYDNEY _ Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would bolster support for the inter-Korean summit, slated for Oct. 2-4 in Pyongyang. In his summit with President Roh Moo-hyun on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum here, Sunday, Putin said he strongly backs Roh's planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Putin agreed with Roh's remarks that ``the inter-Korean summit will make a contribution to resolving North Korea's nuclear issue, promoting peace in the Northeast Asia and economic cooperation between Russia and two Koreas.'' Roh expressed gratitude to Russia which played a crucial role for the successful six-party talks and breaking the impasse over a long-running banking dispute blocking North Korea's nuclear disarmament. [BDA] [KR_summit07]
• Russia arms old and new friends in Asia
  By Donald Greenlees Published: September 5, 2007 HONG KONG: On the way to the annual summit meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders in Australia, President Vladimir Putin of Russia has scheduled a brief stop-off in Jakarta on Thursday. High on Putin's agenda: the signing of a $1 billion arms deal that includes supplying Indonesia with two Kilo-class submarines, the first of a small fleet of the vessels. It comes on the heels of other deals to sell advanced Su-27 and Su-30 combat fighters to Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries in the region, helping to entrench Russia's place as the leading arms supplier to Asia. The signs that the Russian bear wants to return to its old stamping grounds in East Asia and the Pacific have become increasingly apparent in recent times, analysts say.
  The consumption of Russian military hardware has been led by two traditional customers, China and India, as both spend billions of dollars to rapidly expand their military capabilities by buying Russian combat aircraft, warships, submarines and missiles. Russia has been deepening both of those relationships by establishing joint-development programs of some weapons and agreeing to license the manufacture of others.
  "The Russians are not indiscriminately selling arms," Muraviev said. "Russia has pursued a policy driven by strategic design. If it creates a strong client base, that can later be transformed into a larger relationship." [Arms sales] [Russia confrontation]
• Russia rains on Bretton Woods parade
  By Zorawar Daulet Singh Russia's unexpected decision late last month to pick a non-consensus candidate, Joseph Tosovsky, from the Czech Republic, to head the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has once again brought to the fore the apparent illegitimacy of the international economic architecture, which has remained frozen since 1944. The Russian Finance Ministry stated, "We believe that Mr Tosovsky would be the right person at the right place at the right time." Former Russian prime minister Yegor Gaidar wrote, "The countries of eastern Europe should consider ways of increasing their influence in key decisions within the EU on questions of world financial politics." There are perhaps two overlapping motives for Moscow. First, the move reflects Russia's quest to broaden the scope of economic globalization and advance the agenda for the equitable management of the international political economy. Second, at the geopolitical level, the move is another sign of Moscow's nuanced foreign policies that are seeking to restore its influence in the post-Soviet space without provoking a cold war. [Russia confrontation]
• Russia Resumes Its Long-Range Air Patrols
  Putin Announces Regular Tours
  By Anton Troianovski Special to The Washington Post Saturday, August 18, 2007; A07
  MOSCOW, Aug. 17 -- In Russia's latest assertion of a broader global military presence, President Vladimir Putin announced Friday that the country had resumed the regular long-range air patrols that ended after the Soviet Union collapsed. The flights are necessary to protect Russia because "other states," an allusion to the United States and its allies, continue patrols of their own, he said. Speaking after completion of the first Russian-Chinese joint military exercise held on Russian soil, Putin said the flights began at midnight Friday morning and involved 20 aircraft that would stay in the air for about 20 hours. "Starting today, such tours of duty will be conducted regularly," Putin told reporters at a military range near Kazakhstan, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin. "We proceed from the assumption that our partners will view the resumption of flights of Russia's strategic aviation with understanding." [Missile defense] [SCO] [Russia confrontation]
• Kim Jong Il Greets Putin
  Pyongyang, August 15 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il sent a message of greetings to Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin today on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of the liberation of Korea. The message says: I send greetings to you and, through you, to the Russian people on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of Korea's liberation. Expressing the belief that the cooperative relations between the DPRK and Russia would develop in the interests of the two peoples, I wish you success in your work.
• Greetings to Kim Jong Il from Putin
  Pyongyang, August 15 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il received a message of greetings from Russian President V. Putin Wednesday on the occasion of the day of Korea's liberation. In the message the president said that Korea achieved freedom and independence through an arduous and protracted struggle against the colonial rule, stressing that Russia highly appreciates the fact that the DPRK deems it important to remember the Russians who alongside the Korean patriots laid down their lives for the liberation of the Korean Peninsula and victory in the Second World War. He expressed the belief that the good-neighborly relations between the DPRK and Russia would develop for the well-being of the two peoples in the future, too, and they would make a distinct contribution to peace, stability and security in the Korean Peninsula and all other regions. He wished the friendly DPRK fresh success in its socio-economic development.
• S. Korea welcomes cooperation with Russia, N. Korea – ambassador
  20:36 | 14/ 08/ 2007 MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - Seoul backs Russia's proposal to set up tripartite intergovernmental commissions with North Korea to discuss major joint economic projects, South Korea's ambassador to Russia said Tuesday. Russia has proposed setting up commissions in various areas of cooperation with North and South Korea, including a possible link-up of the Trans-Korean Railroad with the Trans-Siberian Railroad. [Railways]
• North Korea to settle debts with Russia
        RBC, 06.08.2007, Moscow 18:03:51.Russia is currently planning negotiations with North Korea on the Korean debt settlement for the fall 2007, Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak told RBC today. If North Korea does not sign an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and does not join the Paris Club, settling debts with Pyongyang will be tough, the Deputy Minister noted. The negotiations are of great importance, as all Paris Club members, including Russia, are obliged to settle non-members' debts, he said.       North Korea's debt to the former USSR is estimated at $8bn, but the debt's exact evaluation poses certain difficulties, as it is denominated in various currencies and, most importantly, Korea has not yet acknowledged Russia as a moneylender, Storchak added.
• The Putin Charisma
  Immanuel Wallerstein
  Commentary No. 213, July 15, 2007 Vladimir Putin has not been getting good press in the United States or even Western Europe in the last year or so. He has been charged with being authoritarian, with attempting to recreate Russia's imperial control over its neighbors, and with reviving Cold War obstructionism in the United Nations.
  So one must ask, is this the only place where Putin has been exercising his charisma? And the answer has to be no. There is first of all his internal political strength in Russia. Yes, he has upset a good portion of the intelligentsia, but there is every indication that he is quite popular with most Russians, unlike some other presidents of major states today.
  Even more important however are Putin's political accomplishments on the world scene. He has resisted, so far successfully, any and all attempts by the United States to obtain United Nations authorization of real punitive action against Iran, North Korea, and Sudan. He has held up any moving forward to independence for Kosovo. To be sure, Russia's positions have been China's positions on these questions, so Russia is not alone. But in the 1990s, such strong and so far effective Russian political stands were not thinkable.
• Floral Tribute Paid to Fallen Fighters of Soviet Army
  Pyongyang, June 12 (KCNA) -- Officials of the Russian embassy here laid a wreath before the Liberation Tower Tuesday on the occasion of Russia's national day. Present at the wreath-laying ceremony were Russian Ambassador to the DPRK Valery Sukhinin and embassy officials. Amid the playing of the wreath-laying music a wreath in the name of the Russian embassy and bouquets were placed before the tower. The participants paid a silent tribute to the fallen fighters of the Soviet army before looking round the tower. Then they laid a wreath and bouquets at the cemetery of fallen fighters of the Soviet army in Sadong District, Pyongyang.
• Russia Belatedly Joins in Sanctions against N.Korea
  According to Russia's Itar Tass news agency on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree imposing sanctions on North Korea in compliance with a UN Security Council resolution in the wake of Pyongyang's nuclear test last October. The presidential decree applies a full weapons embargo against North Korea in pursuance of UN Security Council Resolution 1718. All Russian government agencies and enterprises will be banned from exporting to North Korea tanks, fighter jets, warships, heavy artillery pieces, missiles, and missile launchers, as well as materials that can be used for nuclear weapons development. In addition, North Korean officials involved in development programs for weapons of mass destruction including nuclear weapons are banned from entering Russia. Shipments of luxury goods to North Korea are also banned. The measure will likely have no tangible effects, however, given that the current annual trade volume between Russia and North Korea is only about $200 million. [Sanctions]
• The Iron Archives
  By RACHEL DONADIO Published: April 22, 2007 Since the end of the cold war, historians have mined the Russian archives for insights into the nature of the Soviet empire and its global reach. New documents have shed light on such matters as the Alger Hiss and Rosenberg spy cases and also illuminated the relationships between Moscow and revolutionary movements in other countries - sometimes fueling old debates more than settling them. But after a golden age in the early 1990s, archival access eroded. Today, conversations with nearly two dozen historians point to a worrisome tightening that has kept key archives closed and subjected others to unpredictable "re-secretization
  Similarly, James Person, an associate at the Cold War International History Project, which publishes material from former Communist countries, said that five years ago he consulted documents from 1956 concerning the Soviet relationship with North Korea; when he returned in March 2006, they had been reclassified.
• Russia Pushing for Inter-Korean Summit - Ex-NIS Official
  A former senior official with the National Intelligence Service said Tuesday he has information that if an inter-Korean summit is held in a third country, it will be on Vladivostok's Russkiy Island in Russia. The former official, Prof. Song Jong-hwan of Myongji University, made the remarks at a conference held by the National Crisis Council. "Russian President Vladimir Putin's wish to win the Nobel Peace Prize fits with the timeline for inter-Korean events," Song said. According to Song, Putin wants the summit to be announced around Aug. 31 Independence Day, and before nominations close for the Nobel Peace Prize. Putin could then be announced as the prize winner on Oct. 22 and awarded the prize on Dec. 5, Song said. He claimed that fits with the Korean government's planned schedule for a summit and the presidential elections.
• Thousands of S.Korean POWs 'Disappeared in Russia'
  North Korea sent thousands of South Korean prisoners of war to the former Soviet Union during the Korean War, the U.S. edition of the Hankook Ilbo reported citing a newly declassified U.S. document on Wednesday. The South Korean POWs have never been repatriated. Entitled "The Transfer of U.S. Korean War POWs to the Soviet Union," the report was written in August 1993 based on testimony obtained by the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission Support Branch of the Research and Analysis Division under the Defense POW/MIA Office (DPMO) after the Cold War ended.   South Korean prisoners of war step out of an ambulance in Munsan, South Korea after they were released following an April 26, 1953 agreement to exchange war prisoner during the Korean War.   According to the report, the former North Korean officer Kan San Kho stated in November 1992 that he assisted in the transfer of thousands of South Korean POWs into 300 to 400 camps in the Soviet Union, most in the taiga but some in Central Asia as well. Already in May 1953, Zygmunt Nagorski, a reporter with the magazine Esquire, covered the transfer of South Korean POWs and their life in the Soviet Union in an in-depth report based on testimony from two agents of the Russian Interior Ministry and an employee of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The witnesses testified the transit point was through the North Korean-Soviet border at Pos'yet between November 1951 and April 1952 when ice closed the Pacific coast and the Tatar Straits. "These POWs were taken from Pos'yet through Chita by rail to Molotov" now Perm. According to the 1993 report, "The exploitation of POWs as Soviet state policy was blatantly contained in the minutes of a Sept. 19, 1952 meeting between Stalin and Chinese Foreign Minister Chou en-lai in which he recommended that the Communists keep back 20 percent of United Nations POWs as hostages." The POWs sent to the Chukotsk Peninsula, apparently at least 12,000 of them, "were used to build roads, electric power plants, and airfields. There was a high mortality rate among all these prisoners." [Korean War events]
• The Myth of Russian Resurgence
  By Rajan Menon, New America Foundation   with Alexander J. Motyl, professor of political science and deputy director of the Division of Global Affairs, Rutgers University-Newark The American Interest | March/April 2007  
  According to much recent commentary, Russia is back as a major power. The cover of the July 15, 2006 Economist, a magazine noted for its measured tone and sober assessments featured a phtograph of President Vladimir Putin, with a confident air and stern visage, next to the words "Living with a Strong Russia." New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman quipped that "Russia has gone from the sick man of Europe to the boos man." And in the Holidays (November/December) 2006 issue of The American Interest, Paul Dibb made the case for taking Russia's return seriously. Russia's resurgence, we are told, is indisputable; the only question is how to deal with it. As with almost any broad generalization, this one is not entirely false. Indeed, it cannot be. Russia sprawls across Eurasia, contains 148 million people, possesses more than 3,000 strategic nuclear warheads, is the world's second-largest exporter of oil and armaments, is the foremost exporter of natural gas and is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Any country with these attributes will have strategic heft. But a scrutiny of its power reveals that Russia is far weaker than the reigning consensus suggests. Russia is not "back." If anything, the next few years may show Russia with its back to the wall....
• DPRK Government Economic Delegation Leaves for Russia
  Pyongyang, March 20 (KCNA) -- A DPRK government economic delegation led by Minister of Foreign Trade Rim Kyong Man left here Tuesday to attend the fourth meeting of the Inter-Governmental Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Economy and Science and Technology between the DPRK and Russia to be held in Russia.
• Russia-N Korea Trade Down To USD 209 Mln In 2006 - Official
  MOSCOW, March 5 (Itar-Tass) - Russian-North Korean trade reduced to 209 million U.S. dollars in 2006, the deputy co-chair of the two countries' intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation, Vitaly Gudin, said on Monday. "Russia's export to North Korea amounted to 190 million U.S. dollars," the Economic Development and Trade Ministry official said. He pointed out that "the two countries' bilateral trade is unbalanced - Russia exports mainly raw materials, while North Korea's export to Russia has not exceeded 15 million U.S. dollars for several years." Gudin believes that the development of investment cooperation remains most promising, but several unresolved problems, including North Korea's unsettled debt hamper the process. He said North Korea's debt to Russia "makes up 8.8 billion U.S. dollars, no debt payments are made." The debt settlement talks of Russian and North Korean finance ministries that had been disrupted by North Korea in 2002 "resumed only late last year," Gudin said. The two country's trade made up 240 million U.S. dollars in 2005. The reduction in last year's trade "is caused by decrease in Russian oil exports, while North Korea's import increased by 6 million U.S. dollars," he said.
• Korea-Russia Trade Hit Record High Last Year
  Updated Feb.26,2007 08:36 KST             Trade between Korea and Russia hit a record high of US$9.7 billion last year. The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency says Korean exports to Russia amounted to more than $5 billion last year, up 34 percent from 2005. Imports increased 16 percent to $4.5 billion over the same period. Bilateral trade has expanded more than 50 times since 1992 when two-way volume reached $190 million. And for the first time in eight years, Korea recorded a trade surplus with Russia of about $600 million.
• N. Korea's debt to Russia could be dramatically cut - Lavrov
  20:28 | 14/ 02/ 2007 ABU DHABI, February 14 (RIA Novosti) - The resolution of North Korea's $8-billion debt to Russia will mean its substantial reduction, Russia's foreign minister said Wednesday.
  Media reports said Tuesday that the six-party talks in Beijing had discussed Russia's plan to write off North Korea's debt to the former Soviet Union as a way of aiding the impoverished nation. "We are discussing the resolution of the debt issue. There can be various terms, but it will definitely be a dramatic reduction of the debt," Sergei Lavrov said onboard a plane from New Delhi to Abu Dhabi. The latest round of six-party talks in Beijing on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program ended up in an agreement that Russia, the United States, South Korea and China will provide humanitarian aid to North Korea in return for its nuclear disarmament, a joint statement at the talks said Tuesday. "We are completing negotiations on Pyongyang's debt to Russia and we think this will help ease North Korea's economic and financial problems," the Russian minister said. Russia's envoy to the six-nation talks, Alexander Losyukov, denied reports Tuesday that Russia might write off the debt completely. He said the two countries would hold a meeting of an intergovernmental commission on the issue in March.
• Russian Policy Toward Northeast Asia: In Search of a New Approach
  Yuri Tsyganov
  The Contemporary Europe Research Centre , University of Melbourne, 2003
• Moscow ready to sell Delhi modern fighter aircraft
  Reuters Published: 24/01/2007 12:00 AM (UAE) Bangalore: Russia will pitch its MiG-35 combat jet for an Indian tender for 126 fighter aircraft, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said yesterday, adding that Moscow was willing to boost nuclear cooperation. "The Russian Federation is going to actively participate in the tender for supply of 126 light fighters," Ivanov told reporters in Bangalore. Ivanov, on a three-day visit to India ahead of a trip by Russian President Vladimir Putin later this week, said Moscow would be sending its cutting-edge MiG-35 fighter to an international air show in Bangalore next month. He also confirmed reports Moscow was ready to construct four new nuclear reactors in India, in addition to two already agreed. [India-Russia relations]
• Report: Russia completes delivery of missile defense systems to Iran
  www.chinaview.cn 2007-01-23 15:56:48 Special report: Iran Nuclear Crisis MOSCOW, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Russia has completed the delivery of Tor-M1 missile systems to Iran, Itar-Tass news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the head of the state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport. Russia has fulfilled its contract and "fully completed deliveries of Tor-M1 air defense systems to Iran at the end of December 2006," Rosoboronexport chief Sergei Chemezov was quoted as saying. Moscow cut a 1-billion-U.S.-dollar deal with Tehran in November 2005 to supply it with the short-range Tor-M1 missiles. Russian officials described the missiles as air defense systems that are used only to bring down aircraft and guided missiles at low altitudes but cannot strike ground targets
• Russian President on Developing Russia-DPRK Relations of Friendship
  Moscow, January 19 (KCNA) -- The Russian Federation is interested in boosting the good-neighborly contacts with the DPRK and the relations between the two countries are developing on a high level, said President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin, on Jan. 18, when receiving credentials from the DPRK ambassador to Russia. The President noted that he is very proud of maintaining the good friendship with Kim Jong Il. He hoped that the Korean people would achieve good successes in all domains, in the future, too under the wise leadership of Kim Jong Il.
• Russia to Forgive Most of N.Korea's Debt
  Russia has reportedly decided to write off some 80 percent of the US$8 billion it is owed by North Korea, it emerged on Thursday. Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Strochak and his North Korean counterpart Kim Young-gil reached the agreement in negotiations from Dec. 17 to 22 last year, diplomatic sources in Moscow said Thursday. The North wants most its debt to Russia forgiven, and the two countries agreed to discuss in detail via diplomatic channels how much of it will be written off and how to settle the rest of the debt and conclude negotiations before March, when an intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation between the two countries meets.
  North Korea borrowed 3.8 billion rubles from the Soviet Union since the 1960s to build power plants. Russia's Vneshtorgbank and the Foreign Trade Bank of North Korea agreed to estimate Pyongyang's debt to Russia at US$8 billion on the assumption that 1 ruble equals some US$2 considering interest and changes in the exchange rate. "Russia earlier said it won’t continue economic cooperation unless the North pays its debt. But it changed its mind as it wants to relieve the financial burden on Pyongyang so it can persuade the North to take part in trilateral economic cooperation with South Korea and Russia and any six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program in the future,” a diplomat said.

2006

• The New Cold War and US-Russian Relations
  By Stephen F. Cohen Contrary to established opinion, the gravest threats to America's national security are still in Russia. They derive from an unprecedented development that most US policy-makers have recklessly disregarded, as evidenced by the undeclared cold war Washington has waged, under both parties, against post-Communist Russia during the past fifteen years.
• North Korea offers Russia rights to uranium deposits, newspaper says Russian support expected in return
  The Associated Press Published: December 3, 2006
  TOKYO: North Korea has offered Russia exclusive rights to its natural uranium deposits in exchange for support at the stalled talks on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, a Japanese newspaper reported Sunday. Separately, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that the United States and five other countries had proposed that North Korea abandon its nuclear program by the end of 2008 in return for security guarantees and economic aid. Pyongyang and Moscow have been in talks since 2002 on a deal for Russia to import uranium, which it wants to enrich and sell as nuclear fuel to China and Vietnam, according to a report in the Tokyo Shimbun, citing unnamed Russian officials. North Korea recently offered Russia exclusive rights to the uranium in exchange for open support at the six- party talks on the North's nuclear program, which have stalled since last year, the report stated.
• Report: N.Korea Offers Uranium to Russia
  The Associated Press Sunday, December 3, 2006; 5:46 AM TOKYO -- North Korea has offered Russia exclusive rights to its natural uranium deposits in exchange for support at the stalled talks on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, a newspaper reported Sunday. The two countries have been in talks since 2002 on a deal for Russia to import uranium, which it wants to enrich and sell as nuclear fuel to China and Vietnam, according to a report in the regional daily, Tokyo Shimbun, citing unnamed Russian officials.
  North Korea recently offered Russia exclusive rights to the uranium in exchange for open support at the six-party talks on the North's nuclear program, which have stalled since last year, the report stated. Russia, which already exports natural gas and oil, hopes to become a major exporter of nuclear fuel, according to the report. Negotiations between Russia and North Korea were set to continue, the report added.
• Russia to write off large part of North Korea's $8bln debt
  17:56 | 29/ 11/ 2006 MOSCOW, November 29, (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Finance Ministry said Wednesday it plans to launch talks in a few weeks on writing off a major portion of North Korea's debt. Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said the country's debt to Russia was estimated at $8 billion. "I believe it will be a large write-off," Storchak said, responding to a question on whether Russia will forgive 80-90% of North Korea's debt.
• ‘Seoul-Moscow Ties Essential for Peace Regime on Peninsula’
  By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Park Jae-kyu Park Jae-kyu, president of Kyungnam University, said on Wednesday that close cooperation between South Korea and Russia is essential for the construction of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula as well as for the vibrant growth and prosperity of both countries. A day after hosting the 21st Century Korea-Russia Community Forum in Seoul, he said it is important to promote exchanges and mutual understanding in social, cultural, academic and other fields to facilitate Korea-Russia cooperation.
• Russia-China Security Cooperation
  Dr. Marcel de Haas
  27 November 2006
  Russia and China have joined together in a strategic partnership aimed at countering the U.S. and Western "monopoly in world affairs," as was made clear in a joint statement released by the Chinese and Russian presidents in July 2005. The long standing border disputes between the two countries were settled in agreements in 2005, and joint military exercises were carried out in the same year. Furthermore, Russia, in addition to its arms exports, has been increasing its oil and gas commitments to China. Clearly, the recent comprehensive improvement of bilateral relations between China and Russia is a remarkable development. What is the meaning of this military and security related cooperation, and is the Sino-Russian military liaison likely to expand? Should this rapprochement be considered as a structural shift of power with the goal of repelling Western influence from Central Asia and the adjacent areas?
  If China indeed achieves such a superpower position, the West and Russia may find common ground to seek closer cooperation. [Russia-China relations] [Realignment]
• The Emerging Russian Giant: The US, Eurasia and Global Geopolitics
  By F William Engdahl
  Ironically, the aggressive Washington foreign policy of the era of Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld since 2001 has done more to nurture the one strategic combination in Eurasia most dreaded by Washington political realists such as Henry Kissinger or Zbigniew Brzezinski, namely a strategic military and economic cooperation on a deep, long-term basis between two former Cold War foes, China and President Vladimir Putin's Russia. [Sino-Russian relations] [US policy] [Energy] [Realignment]
• Russian Energy Maneuvers Challenge Japan: The Sakhalin Ploy
  By Hisane Masaki
  TOKYO - The imbroglio over the huge Sakhalin-2 oil-and-gas project in Russia's Far East involving two Japanese firms has cast a cloud over resource-poor Japan's new national energy strategy. It has also served as a fresh reminder that Japan's economic power seems to have lost much of its luster, at least in the eyes of the Russians. In September, the Russian Natural Resources Ministry froze a key environmental permit for the project off the Coast of Sakhalin Island, citing problems with conservation. The decision drew immediate protests from Japan and the European Union. Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, then still chief cabinet secretary of the Koizumi cabinet, said a major delay to Sakhalin-2 could hurt diplomatic relations. [Russo-Japan relations] [Energy security] [Environment]
• The Geopolitics of Energy: Russia sets the pace in energy race
  By M K Bhadrakumar
  Speaking at a conference under the rubric "Summit on Energy Security" at West Lafayette, Indiana, this month, the powerful chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar, characterized Venezuela, Iran and Russia as "adversarial regimes" that were using energy supplies as "leverage" in foreign policy.
  Lugar said: "We are used to thinking in terms of conventional warfare between nations, but energy is becoming a weapon of choice for those who possess it."
  Senior Russian figures were quick to dismiss Lugar's admonition as "groundless Russophobia", but the US administration is already opening new battle fronts against Russia in the energy war.
  Next week's meeting in Beijing on energy security involving the United States, China, Japan, India and South Korea is a dramatic manifestation of the new battle plans and war doctrines that Washington is conceptualizing. The conclave in Beijing, significantly, leaves out Western Europe. [Energy security]
• LG opens new factory in Russia
    September 07, 2006 ? LG Electronics has opened a large complex to make digital appliances and televisions in Russia, the company said yesterday. The plant began production Tuesday. Located in the Ruza region, about 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) west of Moscow, the plant will produce plasma display panel and liquid crystal display TVs, washing machines, refrigerators and audio equipment. LG spent $150 million over a period of 16 months to complete the facilities. Along with LG, seven smaller parts manufacturers that provide accessories for LG products went to Russia and set up their production facilities within the LG complex. The supplier companies provided $50 million toward the cost of the facility. "We chose Russia as the location for this plant to better serve customers in the region. We can pass on savings on distribution costs and tariffs directly to our customers, while taking advantage of the region's highly skilled workforce," said Young Rha, an LG spokesman
• Jongbaek Church Completed
  Pyongyang, August 13 (KCNA) -- A ceremony for the completion of the Jongbaek Church standing on the bank of the River Taedong was held on the spot Sunday. Present there were Kwak Pom Gi, vice-premier of the Cabinet, officials concerned and members of various religious organizations. Also present there were members of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church led by its Chairman of the Office for Foreign Relations Kirill, patriarch of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Regions, Andrei Karlov, Russian ambassador to the DPRK, and staff members of the embassy, diplomatic envoys of various other countries and representatives of international organizations here. Ho Il Jin, chairman of the Korean Orthodox Church Committee, made a speech at the ceremony to be followed by congratulatory speeches by Patriarch Kirill, Jang Jae On, chairman of the Korean Religionists' Association, and Viktor Gorchyakov, deputy governor of the Maritime Provincial Administration of the Russian Federation. Ho Il Jin in his speech said the inauguration of the Jongbaek Church on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Kim Jong Il's historic visit to the Russian Federation marked an occasion in boosting the relations between the DPRK and Russia. The speaker recalled that Kim Jong Il, during his visit to the Far Eastern region of Russia, highly praised the Orthodox Church for having played the role of a pacemaker in developing the history and culture of Russia in the past and preserving the national tradition and gave an instruction on building a church in Pyongyang so that Orthodox Church goers might lead a pious life during their visit to Korea. [Religion]
• Russia reignites feud with Japan by investing £350m in disputed islands
  · Snub from Moscow stirs 500-year-old conflict · Dispute prevented signing of second world war treaty
  Tom Parfitt in Moscow Saturday August 5, 2006 The Guardian
  Russia is to pour hundreds of millions of pounds into developing a group of small islands seized from Japan at the end of the second world war, in a calculated snub to Tokyo. The decision will aggravate a dispute that has kept the countries technically at war for more than 60 years. Moscow denies the huge funding boost for the Kuril Islands is political, but it is sure to antagonise the Japanese who want to regain control of them. [Northern territories]
• Anniversary of DPRK-Russia Moscow Declaration Observed
  Pyongyang, August 4 (KCNA) -- Today marks the 5th anniversary of the DPRK-Russia Moscow Declaration adopted during the historic Russia visit paid by General Secretary Kim Jong Il. Papers carry articles on this occasion.
• Visits: Russia and Japan
  Pyongyang, July 29 (KCNA) -- A delegation of the Korea-Russia Friendship Association led by Hong Son Ok, vice-chairperson of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries who is chairperson of the association, left here Saturday to visit Russia. It was seen off at Pyongyang Railway Station by officials concerned and the Russian charge d'affaires ad interim here. A delegation of Japan-Korea Friendship led by Hiroyuki Kasai, dietman of the Saitama Prefectural Council for Japan-Korea Friendship and Solidarity, arrived here by air on Saturday.
• Russia talks with North about deal for energy
  July 04, 2006 ? KHABAROVSK, Russia ? Russia has been in discussions with North Korea to supply it with surplus electricity, Russian officials at a state-owned electric power company recently told the JoongAng Ilbo. In return, North Korea would provide Russia with natural resources. "We have been discussing exporting surplus electricity from the far eastern district of the country to North Korea," Victor Minakov, president of Vostokenergo, the far eastern branch of the United Energy System of Russia, said in an interview last week in Khabarovsk. "The fastest and most efficient way to resolve North Korea's electricity problem is to supply electricity from Russia," Mr. Minakov said. According to Mr. Minakov, negotiations have been delayed because Russia initially asked North Korea to pay cash for the electricity, and then asked it to cover the expenses for building power transmission lines, neither of which the North could afford. However, the negotiations resumed after Pyongyang offered to pay for the electricity with natural mineral resources.
• Russian Dance Company Presents Sacred Picture to Jongbaek Orthodox Church
  Pyongyang, June 18 (KCNA) -- The visiting State Academic Moiseyev Folk Dance Company of Russia led by Director Elena Scherbakova presented a sacred picture to the Jongbaek Orthodox Church. Jesus is depicted on the sacred picture. A presentation ceremony took place on the spot on June 17. Present at the ceremony were members of the dance company, Russian Ambassador to the DPRK Andrei Karlov and officials of the embassy, diplomatic envoys of various countries and representatives of international organizations here. Also on hand were Hong Son Ok, vice-chairperson of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries who is chairwoman of the DPRK-Russia Friendship Association, Ho Il Jin, chairman of the Korean Orthodox Church Committee, and officials concerned. The participants were briefed on how the Jongbaek Orthodox Church was established. Then the head of the dance company conveyed the sacred picture sanctified by Alexy II, patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, to the chairman of the Korean Orthodox Church Committee. Speeches were made at the ceremony. They looked round the church at the end of the ceremony. [Religion]
• Reassessing Soviet motives for invading Afghanistan: A declassified history
  David N. Gibbs A1 A1 history and political science, University of Arizona
  Abstract: This article reassesses Soviet motives for invading Afghanistan in 1979, based on newly available archival materials, especially from the former USSR. The article argues that these Soviet documents show that the 1979 invasion reflected defensive rather than offensive objectives. Specifically, the USSR sought to restrain extremist elements of the Afghan communist party, who were undermining stability on the southern Soviet frontier. The findings of this article are at odds with with long-standing views that the invasion of Afghanistan was part of a larger Soviet strategy aimed at threatening the Persian Gulf and other western interests [Imperialism] [Soviet Union] [Spin]
• World Korean Forum Seeks Increasing Ties With Russia
  By Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter Jan Jung, chairwoman of the Korean Global Foundation ``Russia has a crucial role as a balancer in Far Eastern Asia, but we, South Koreans, both at home and abroad, still lack enough cooperation with the emerging economic power,'' said Jan Jung, chairwoman of the Korean Global Foundation (KGF). Jung, 55, who has led the Los Angeles-based non-profit organization for ethnic Koreans since last year, has been preparing for the 7th World Korean Forum scheduled to be held in two Russian cities from June 15 to 20 this year.
• Russians Sense the Heat of Cold War
  Intensifying U.S. Criticism of Government and Its Role in Region Provokes Resentment By Peter Finn Washington Post Foreign Service Monday, April 3, 2006; Page A14
  MOSCOW -- In this city, it's beginning to feel like a new Cold War, driven by what many people here see as an old American impulse: to encircle, weaken or even destroy Russia, just as the country is emerging from post-Soviet ruins as a cohesive, self-confident and global power. The specter of a U.S. nuclear first strike even resurfaced this month. An article in Foreign Affairs magazine, published by the Council on Foreign Relations, suggested that the United States could hit Russia and China without serious risk of retaliation. That sent heads spinning here with visions of Dr. Strangelove.
  "The publication of these ideas in a respectable American journal has had an explosive effect," former Russian prime minister Yegor Gaidar wrote in an article in London's Financial Times newspaper. "Even those Russian journalists and analysts who are not prone to hysteria or anti-Americanism took it as an outline of the official position of the U.S. Administration." [Imperialism]
• Russian Military Band Performs in Pyongyang
  The central military band of Russian Defense Ministry parading with the DPRK's military band in a street in Pyongyang on February 14. The central military band of Russian Defense Ministry paid its official visit to the DPRK from February 9 to 17. It was headed by Valerii Khalilov, chief of the Military Orchestral Service and its chief conductor of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The band gave its premiere at the Ponghwa Art Theatre on February 9. The band has come to the DPRK for the first time.
• Russia Opposes Sanctions Against North Korea
  By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
  Russia opposes any kind of sanctions against what the United States calls rogue states such as Iran and North Korea, Glev Ivashentsov, Moscow's top diplomat to Seoul, said on Tuesday. His remarks came as U.S. and North Korean officials were to hold a meeting in New York hours later amid Washington's financial sanctions against Pyongyang for the communist state's alleged counterfeiting of U.S. dollars. ``In principle, we are against any economic sanctions because they do not work,'' Ivashentsov told The Korea Times after a forum hosted by the Korea News Editors' Association in Seoul. ``There should be dialogue, there should be consultation, but sanctions do not work neither against North Korea, nor against Iran, nor against any other country,'' he said. In New York, North Korean officials were to receive a briefing by U.S. Treasury Department officials on the ``financial restrictions'' Washington imposed in September against a bank in Macau for its alleged money-laundering service to Pyongyang for over 20 years.
  As for a claim that Moscow was one of the venues North Koreans used to circulate the bogus U.S. dollars, Ivashentsov said that his government is not aware of any substantial evidence to prove it. ``Our law-enforcement agencies have not seen substantial evidence, regarding such claims,'' he said through an interpreter during the forum. ``What we've heard of till now is at the level of rumor.'' Quoting unnamed U.S. officials, the Washington Times reported last year that North Korean diplomats and Sean Garland, head of Ireland's communist Workers Party and part of a ring that allegedly trafficked in the North Korean counterfeit notes, met at the North Korean Embassy in Moscow. Ivashentsov said that the United States should present concrete evidence that can entangle Pyongyang in financial illegalities. ``The party that raises such suspicions should present the corresponding evidence,'' he said. [Evidence] [Sanctions]

• Pak Pong Ju Meets Mayor of Sankt-Petersburg of Russia
  Pyongyang, December 5 (KCNA) -- Pak Pong Ju, premier of the DPRK Cabinet, met and had a friendly conversation with Valentina Matvienko, mayor of Sankt-Petersburg of the Russian Federation, and her party who paid a courtesy call on him at the Mansudae Assembly Hall Monday. On hand were Rim Kyong Man, minister of Foreign Trade, Kung Sok Ung, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, officials concerned and Russian Ambassador to the DPRK Andrei Gennadiyevich Karlov.
• Putin's Diplomatic Victory in Tokyo: Regional perspective on Russia-Japan Relations
  By Masaki Hisane Known as a black-belt judoist, Russian President Vladimir Putin has scored wazaari, if not ippon, in his diplomatic bout with Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro. Putin ended a three-day official visit to Japan on Tuesday (Nov.22), his first in more than five years, after meeting with Koizumi and signing a dozen documents on expanding business cooperation and technological issues. But as widely expected, the two leaders failed to achieve a breakthrough on the long-standing territorial dispute. Even worse, the gulf between the two sides over the islands row had grown so wide that no joint political statement on the dispute was issued, dealing a significant setback to Tokyo. It is quite unusual that no political statement is issued when top leaders of Japan and Russia make official visits to each other's capitals [Northern Territories]
• 2005-2007 Plan for Cultural and Scientific Exchange between Governments of DPRK and Russia Signed
  Pyongyang, November 16 (KCNA) -- 2005-2007 plan for cultural and scientific exchange between the governments of the DPRK and Russia was signed at the Mansudae Assembly Hall today. Present at the signing ceremony from the DPRK side were officials concerned including Jon Hyon Chan, vice-chairman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, and from the opposite side Russian Ambassador to the DPRK Andrei Karlov and embassy officials. The plan was signed by Vice-Chairman Jon Hyon Chan and Ambassador Andrei Karlov.
• Paek Nam Sun Meets Russian Delegation
  Pyongyang, November 7 (KCNA) -- Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun Sunday met and conversed with a delegation of the Russian Foreign Ministry led by Vice-Minister Aleksandr Alekseyev who paid a courtesy call on him. On hand were officials of the DPRK Foreign Ministry, the Russian ambassador to the DPRK and embassy officials.
• Roh, Putin to discuss North's nuclear issue
  November 05, 2005 ? Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders summit on Nov. 18 and 19 in Busan, Blue House spokesman Kim Man- soo said yesterday. On Nov. 19, the Russian leader will have one-on- one talks with President Roh Moo-hyun on matters of mutual interest, including the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament and other issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, building a lasting peace in the Northeast Asian region and cooperation within international bodies, including the United Nations.
• Roh, Putin to Discuss North Korean Nukes
  By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a summit with President Roh Moo-hyun on Nov. 19, a day after his arrival in South Korea, Chong Wa Dae said on Friday. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which will be held for two days in Pusan (Busan) beginning Nov. 18. The summit could provide the two countries with an opportunity to magnify the ``substantial'' and ``reciprocal'' relationship, which was agreed on in September 2004 when Roh visited Moscow, presidential spokesman Kim Man-soo said
• Protocol Signed between DPRK and Russia
  Pyongyang, November 4 (KCNA) -- A protocol of the 8th meeting of the Forestry Sub-committee of the Committee for the Cooperation of Trade, Economy and Science and Technology between the governments of the DPRK and Russia was signed in Amur, Russia on October 26. Present at the signing ceremony from the DPRK side were members of a delegation of the Ministry of Forestry led by Vice-minister Ri Jin Son and from the Russian side were Vice-Minister of Industry and Energy Ivan Matsorov, and officials concerned.
• Russian Presidential Envoy Winds up Its Korea Visit
  Pyongyang, October 11 (KCNA) -- Konstantin Borisovich Pulikovski, presidential envoy to the Far East region of the Russian Federation, and his party Tuesday flew back home after winding up their Korea visit to participate in the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea. They were seen off at the airport by Vice-Premier of the DPRK Cabinet Ro Tu Chol, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Kung Sok Ung and officials concerned, Russian Ambassador to the DPRK Andrei Gennadiyevich Karlov and staff members of the Russian embassy.
• Roh, Putin Discuss NK Nuke
  By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone about the latest achievements in the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, Chong Wa Dae said. Roh expressed gratitude for Russia's cooperation in the latest round of six-party talks in Beijing, which ended with a joint statement that includes principles to resolve the nuclear standoff, presidential spokesman Kim Man-soo said.
• Kim Jong Il Meets Russian Presidential Envoy
  Photo shows Chairman Kim Jong Il with Russian presidential envoy on Aug.15. Kim Jong Il, the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea met with Konstantin Borisovich Pulikovski, presidential envoy to the Far East Federal District of Russia and his party on Aug 15. Present there were Kim Yang Gon, councilor of the DPRK National Defence Commission, and Andrei Karlov, Russian Ambassador to the DPRK. The presidential envoy conveyed a personal letter and a gift to Kim Jong Il from Russian President V. V. Putin and his own gift to Kim Jong Il on the occasion.
• Further Development of DPRK-Russia Relations
  Rodong Sinmun The DPRK-Russia Moscow Declaration signed by leader Kim Jong Il and President Vladimir Vladimirivich Putin was issued on Aug 4, 2001. It was an epochal event of weighty significance for steadily developing the DPRK-Russia friendship. The DPRK's national newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, carried an article on Aug 4 to mark the 4th anniversary of the dealaration. The paper says: The meeting and talks between Kim Jong Il and Putin marked a historic event to boost the bilateral ties of friendship.
• Newspapers on Further Development of DPRK-Russia Relations
  Pyongyang, August 4 (KCNA) -- The publication of the DPRK-Russia Moscow Declaration signed by leader Kim Jong Il and President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin four years ago was an epochal event of weighty significance in steadily developing the DPRK-Russia friendship on a new high stage in the new century, say newspapers Thursday. Recalling that Kim Jong Il stayed in Russia from July 26, 2001 and paid an official visit to it between Aug. 4 and 5 at the invitation of Putin, Rodong Sinmun says: Meetings and talks between Kim Jong Il and Putin marked a historic occasion in boosting the bilateral ties of friendship.
• Anniversary of DPRK-Russia Joint Declaration Marked
  Pyongyang, July 19 (KCNA) -- Russian President V.V. Putin visited the DPRK from July 19 to 20, 2000 at the invitation of leader Kim Jong Il. Putin was the first head of state of Russia to visit the DPRK. The DPRK-Russia Joint Declaration was adopted during the visit. Pyongyang-based newspapers today dedicate articles to this anniversary. The articles say that the adoption of the joint declaration was an important event as it provided a solid basis for developing in depth the DPRK-Russia relations of friendship and cooperation on a new track as required by the new century. Over the last five years these relations have steadily developed on a new stage under the special care of the top leaders of the two countries, they added.
• DPRK-Russia Joint Declaration, New Chapter of Friendship
  Pyongyang, July 18 (KCNA) -- July 19 is the fifth anniversary of the historic DPRK-Russia Joint Declaration. It was adopted during Russian President V.V. Putin's visit to the DPRK from July 19 to 20 Juche 89 (2000) at the invitation of Kim Jong Il, chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK. It has been conducive to the development of the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries on new terms, peace and security in Asia and the rest of the world and to the sound progress of international relations.
• China and Russia agree on closer ties
  July 05, 2005 ? In a joint statement released during Chinese President Hu Jintao's recently ended four-day visit to Russia, both sides agreed to deepen their military, economic and cultural ties, while reiterating that they supported the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Both countries also said they supported normalization of ties between the United States and North Korea, and between North Korea and Japan. [China-Russia relations]
• China, Russia issue joint statement on new world order
  China and Russia here Friday issued a joint statement on a new world order in the 21st century, setting forth their common stand on major international issues, such as UN reforms, globalization, North-South cooperation, and world economy and trade.
  The statement was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao after their talks. During their talks, the two leaders discussed ways to further enhance the strategic and cooperative partnership between China and Russia, and exchanged views on major regional and international issues. The joint statement said the two countries are determined to strengthen their strategic coordination in international affairs and promote peace, stability and prosperity of the world. [China-Russia relations]
• Russian Dietmen Support Pyongyang's Stand on Nuke Issue
• DPRK Celebrates 60th Anniversary of Russia's "Great Patriotic War"
  Russian ambassador to the DPRK Andrei Karlov awards a medal of commemorating the 60th anniversary of the victory of Russia's Great Patriotic War to anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters of Korea.
• Kim Jong Il Sends Greetings to Putin on 60th Anniversary of War Victory
  Kim Jong Il, chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission, on May 9 sent a message of greetings to Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin on the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Russian people in the Great Patriotic War.
• Floral Tribute Paid to Fallen Servicepersons of Soviet Army
  Pyongyang, May 9 (KCNA) -- Wreaths were laid before the Liberation Tower today on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Russia's victory in the Great Patriotic War. Guards of honor of the Korean People's Army lined up there.
• Russian Ambassador to DPRK Interviewed
  Pyongyang, May 8 (KCNA) -- The May 8 issue of Minju Joson, the organ of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and the Cabinet of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, runs answers given by Russian Ambassador to the DPRK Andrei Karlov to the questions put by the newspaper. Answering the question as to his view on the historic significance of the defeat of fascism and the 60th anniversary of the victory of Russia in the war, the ambassador said that the servicepersons of the Soviet Army saved Europe and the world from the fascist subjugation.
  Precisely for this reason heads of state and government of at least 50 countries as well as leaders of major international organizations are expected to come to Moscow to participate in the celebrations. I am pleased that Russia will see the delegates of the DPRK among them.
  The 2000 north-south joint declaration and the DPRK-proposed initiative for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula enjoyed strong support from the Russian Federation. I am convinced that all the regional issues including the nuclear issue should be peacefully settled in view of the security of your side and in the interests of its economic development. In this sense Russia holds that the Beijing six- way talks should be resumed as they are regarded as a modality most suitable for the discussion on the afore-said issues
• Roh, Putin Agree to Keep Six-Party Talks Afloat
  By Shim Jae-yun Korea Times Correspondent MOSCOW _ President Roh Moo-hyun and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Monday to keep the six-party talks afloat.
• Kim Jong-il Sends Congratulatory Message to Putin
  By Reuben Staines Staff Reporter North Korean leader Kim Jong-il sent a congratulatory message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Allies' victory in World War II, the North's Korean Central News Agency reported.
• Envoy Wants to Resume Korea Nuke Talks
  By SOO-JEONG LEEThe Associated Press Sunday, May 8, 2005; 1:29 PM SEOUL, South Korea -- A Russian diplomat called for resuming six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program in remarks published Sunday in a North Korean newspaper, a message certain to be viewed favorably by President Bush who met Russian President Vladimir Putin near Moscow. The remarks by Russian Ambassador to North Korea Andrei Karlov came at a time of growing concern in the United States that Pyongyang was preparing to test an atomic weapon.
  _ "I am convinced that all the regional issues including the nuclear issue should be peacefully settled in view of the security of your side and in the interests of its economic development," Karlov told North Korea's Minju Joson newspaper. "In this sense, Russia holds that the Beijing six-way talks should be resumed," he was quoted as saying.
• Events Held to Mark Russia's Day of War Victory
  Pyongyang, May 6 (KCNA) -- The Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries and the DPRK-Russia Friendship Association arranged a photo exhibition and a film show at the Chollima House of Culture Thursday to mark the 60th anniversary of the victory of Russia in the Great Patriotic War. Present on invitation were Russian Ambassador to the DPRK Andrei Karlov and embassy officials. On hand were Mun Jae Chol, acting chairman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, Hong Son Ok, vice-chairperson of the committee and chairperson of the association, officials concerned and working people in the city.
• Korean Student Places First at International Concours
  Pyongyang, May 6 (KCNA) -- Korean student Yun Jin Bok studying at Moscow State Conservatory Named after Tchaikovsky in Russia placed first at the "Art of the 21st Century" International Concours (piano). More than 90 pianists of the DPRK, Russia, China, Japan and other countries participated in the concours held in Kiev from April 24 to 30. Yun Jin Bok was highly appreciated by the jury for successfully representing piano tunes through his excellent and refined rendition. The first prize was awarded to Yun Jin Bok at the prize-awarding ceremony.
• Roh Focusing on Peace in Northeast Asia
  By Shim Jae-yun Korea Times Correspondent MOSCOW - President Roh Moo-hyun is now focusing on promoting peace and security in Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula during his visit to Russia. The visit is significant as it is the first time South Korea has been invited to the World War II victory celebration. ``Roh's participation will help expand the nation's diplomatic scope as a responsible member of the international community,'' Chung Woo-sung, presidential secretary on foreign policy, told The Korea Times. Heads of state from about 50 countries around the world are taking part in the ceremony Monday. In the Asia-Pacific region, five nations were invited _ South and North Korea, China, Japan and India. President Roh Moo-hyun, third from left, walks with first lady Kwon Yang-suk, on his left, and other dignitaries upon arrival at an airport in Moscow, Sunday. Korea Times Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly instructed South Korea be included on the invitation list although the nation was originally excluded from it.
  North Korea was also invited but will not have official representation there. Presidential aide Chung declined to explain why North Korea would not send its representative, saying, ``It is not proper for me to elaborate on the reason.''
• Visit
  A delegation of the State Duma of the Russian Federation headed by Konstantin Kosachev arrived here by air Thursday. It was greeted at the airport by officials concerns and the Russian ambassador to the DPRK.
• Kim Jong Il Visits Russian Embassy
• Russia joins the anti-Japan axis of China and the Koreas
  Lee Wha Rang
  Russia is to supply China with oil and gas leaving energy-starved Japan out of the loop. The latest move by Russia is in retaliation of the emerging Japan's role as an instrument of Bush's foreign policies in the Far East. Japan has become a snarling lapdog of Uncle Sam. A Russian official told Japanese news reporters that "Russia can live without Japanese money." Victor Kristenko, Russian Minister of Commerce and Energy, held a press conference with Japanese reporters on April 19, 2005 and stated that Russia plans to complete a gas pipeline from Siberia to Daqing, China on a priority basis. He said that Russia plans to build a pipeline from the Irkusk gas field to the Amur region, from gas will be shipped to China on rail or a pipe line. Japan has been lobbying for a pipeline to Nakhodka, a port city facing the East Sea that would make shipping gas to Japan economical. This port city is only 50 km from Japan. On the coming summit of Putin and Koizumi, Kristemko poured a cold water on the Japan's hope for an agreement on the Japan-centric pipeline.
• Back to Geostrategics
  by Yu Bin Wittenberg University
  The Year of the Rooster ushered in a quite different mold of Chinese-Russian interaction. In sharp contrast to the "oil-politicking" of much of the previous year, strategic gaming topped the agenda of bilateral relations for the first quarter of 2005. Several high-profile visits occurred, including the first China-Russia inter-governmental consultation on security issues and three rounds of talks between top military officers to prepare for the first ever joint military exercise in the fall. All this occurred in the midst of a sudden burst of "orange revolutions" in Russia and China's western peripheries (Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan). To the East, Washington and Tokyo were hardening their alliance with the "2+2" meeting in Washington D.C. in February, in anticipation of China's anti-secession law that was adopted in March. [Russia-China relations]
• Seoul Wants Russian Weapons Technology
  By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The Defense Ministry said Wednesday that it will ask Russia to transfer its advanced weapons technology, including an anti-aircraft guided missile system, to South Korea to repay its overdue debts to Seoul.
• Russian, Chinese forces reportedly to drill jointly
  March 25, 2005 ? Russian and Chinese military forces are planning large-scale, joint exercises in the Yellow Sea region, Chinese media have reported. A subsidiary of the Chinese People's Daily published a report Wednesday that said China and Russia will conduct major military drills this fall near China's Laodong Peninsula, across the Yellow Sea from Korea. The Hong Kong media reported details of the exercises were agreed upon in meetings between senior military officials from both countries in Beijing last week. Reportedly, units from all three branches of the Chinese and Russian forces, including marines and airborne troops, will participate. Russian marine special forces, long-range strategic bombers and submarines are expected to participate. Some Chinese media have characterized the exercises as significant because the training takes place near U.S. bases in South Korea and Japan, but analysts are divided on the issue.
• Security lies in Korea-U.S. ties
  It is significant that for the first time in history, China and Russia will hold a joint military exercise in the Yellow Sea in September. The two countries agreed to a strategic partnership in 1996 and have strengthened military and economic cooperation since then. Now, cooperation between them has developed into a military exercise involving navy and air force troops with state-of-the-art weaponry. The military drill is a response to the strengthening of the U.S.-Japan alliance. In February, Washington and Tokyo proclaimed a "New Japan-U.S. Joint Declaration on Security" which is aimed at China by defining Taiwan as their "joint security concern." The interests of China and Russia ? engaged in a territorial dispute with Japan over four northern islands ? coincide with each other.
• Russians Visit Jongbaek Church under Construction
  Pyongyang, March 19 (KCNA) -- Ambassador Andrei Karlov and staff members of the Russian embassy here visited Jongbaek Church under construction in Thongil Street, Pyongyang, on Friday to plant trees there. After being briefed on the progress of its construction, the visitors planted scores of white birches representing the DPRK-Russia friendship around the church, together with Chairman of the Korean Orthodox Church Committee Ho Il Jin and officials concerned
• Korea, Russia to Increase Military Exchanges
  By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Top South Korean and Russian military officers agreed Monday to promote military exchanges, to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula, a military officer said. Kim Jong-hwan, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the agreement with his Russian counterpart Yuri Baluyevsky, during his three-day trip in Seoul, Won Tae-jae, an aide to Kim, said.
• Boosting of DPRK-Russia Ties Called for
  Pyongyang, March 17 (KCNA) -- Papers here today mark the 56th anniversary of the inter- governmental agreement on economic and cultural cooperation between the DPRK and the former Soviet Union (March 17, 1949). Rodong Sinmun in a signed article says that the two countries have boosted cooperation and exchange in various fields on the basis of the agreement. The DPRK-Russia friendly and cooperative relations have entered the phase of a new turning point in the new century, the article says, and goes on:
• Russian Embassy Rebuffs Remark on NK's Nuclear Capability
  By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The Russian Embassy in Seoul Sunday repudiated a high-ranking Russian official's remarks that North Korea has no nuclear weapons. Sergei Antipov, deputy director of the Federal Nuclear Power Agency, said in an interview with Itar-Tass in Tokyo on Thursday that Pyongyang has ``no possibilities to produce arms-grade (nuclear) charges.'' It was the first time for a Russian official to publicly question Pyongyang's alleged possession of nuclear warheads since North Korea's Foreign Ministry declared last month that it has nuclear bombs. But the Russian Embassy spokesman called Antipov's remarks only a personal view. ``It's not an official position of the Russian government,'' he told The Korea Times. ``I think it was an expression of his personal opinion.'' Antipov said reprocessing nuclear fuel rods does not necessarily mean that Pyongyang has successfully developed nuclear warheads because ``the technology of their production is more difficult than the use of atom for peace.''
• Defense Ministry Rebuffs Using Russian Field Ground
  By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter The Ministry of National Defense Sunday played down speculation that the Army is considering renting training grounds in eastern Russia to conduct large-scale drills. ``The ministry is considering using Russian territory as reported by some news media,'' Shin Hyun-don, the ministry's spokesman told The Korea Times.
• Kim Jong Il Enjoys Performance of Russian Dancing Troupe
• Army looks to Russia for bigger training grounds
  March 05, 2005 ? Reporting on initial contacts with the Russian military, a Defense Ministry official in Seoul said yesterday that South Korea is considering paying to use training grounds in eastern Russia in order to practice large-scale troop maneuvers.
  If South Korea indeed decides to push ahead with the plan, the biggest obstacle would be the movement of South Korean troops to Russia. Some military officials point out that the only realistic option would be to move the troops by air, but such large-scale movement would be sensitive and likely to upset other nations in the region, such as China and North Korea.
• Congratulatory Message to Kim Jong Il from Putin
  Pyongyang, February 16 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il received a personal congratulatory message from Russian President V. V. Putin on Wednesday, his birthday. The message says: Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on your birthday. Russia highly appreciates the exploits performed by you in developing the traditional Russia-DPRK relations of friendship and promoting the constructive dialogue between our two countries. I am convinced that multi-faceted relations between Russia and the DPRK will as ever expand for the wellbeing of our peoples and contribute to ensuring peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. I wish you success in your state activities and happiness and good health as well as the people of the DPRK wellbeing and prosperity.
• Protocol Signed between DPRK and Russia
  Pyongyang, November 19 (KCNA) -- A protocol of the 7th meeting of the forestry committee of the Inter-Governmental Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Committee was signed between the DPRK and the Russian Federation in Pyongyang on Friday. Present there from the DPRK side were officials concerned and from the Russian side members of the forestry delegation headed by the deputy governor of the Amur Regional Administration and a councilor of the Russian embassy here.
• Russian Envoy Stresses Dialogue for NK Issue
  By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter A high-profile Russian envoy, who arrived in South Korea Monday, on Wednesday met Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan to discuss ways to promote the mutual interests of South Korea and Russia. Konstantin Pulikovsky, 57, Russian presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, who is versed in the two Koreas' issue, stressed ``dialogue'' and ``international assistance'' toward North Korea will forge a breakthrough in the North's nuclear problem during his meeting with the premier, officials said.
• President to Seek Bigger Russian Role in N. Korean Nuclear Dispute
  [Yonhap,Sep.17th] President Roh Moo-hyun's four-day visit to Russia, starting on Monday, will cap South Korea's efforts to enhance peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula through summit diplomacy with the four major powers concerned. Roh's Russian visit will follow his summits in the United States, Japan and China over the past year. With all of the four powers members of the six-party talks on the dispute over North Korea's nuclear program, the president's summit diplomacy will further boost international cooperation against the North's nuclear weapons program.
• Russian Federation Council Chairman Visits DPRK
  Sergei Mikhailovich Mironov, chairman of the Federation Council of Russia visited the DPRK from September 12 to 14. Kim Jong Il, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission, met with Sergei Mikhailovich Mironov on September 13. Present there were Oleg Nikolayevich Kozhemyako, member of the Federation Council; Bato-Zhargal Zhyambalnimbuyev, vice-chairman of the Control Committee for the Activities of the council; Valery Pavlovich Parfyonov, director of the Secretariat for the Chairman of the council, and other dignitaries and Andrei Gennadievich Karlov, Russian ambassador to the DPRK. Kang Sok Ju, first vice-minister of the Foreign Affairs of the DPRK, was on hand.
• Russia's Efforts for Reconciliation and Peace in Korea (2)
  By Alexander Zhebin Director of the Center for Korean Studies Institute of Far Eastern Studies Russian Academy of Sciences A paper for the 2nd World Congress of Korean Studies Pyongyang, August 3-7, 2004
• Koreans in Russia: Historical Perspective
  By Ban Byung-yool Today about 500,000 ethnic Koreans live in the former Soviet Union (the CIS). About 70 percent of them live in Central Asian countries, while the remaining 30 percent live in Russia.
• Seoul, Moscow Hail Summit as Success
  By Shim Jae-yun Korea Times Correspondent MOSCOW - Observers in Seoul and Moscow gave a relatively positive assessment of the summit talks between President Roh Moo-hyun and Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Roh Moo-hyun, center left, and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, center right, talk about bilateral issues during their summit meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday. / Korea Times They cited the two leaders' agreements on the expansion of bilateral cooperation in energy, aeronautical science and transportation as significant developments in relations. But critics refrained from labeling the talks a success due to the lack of tangible progress in dealing with the standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons programs
• Roh, Putin Seek Closer Ties Through Summit
  By Shim Jae-yun Korea Times Correspondent ASTANA, Kazakhstan _ Undoubtedly, the main summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sept. 21 will be the highlight of President Roh Moo-hyun's first official visit to Russia.
• Kim Jong Il Receives Mironov
  Pyongyang, September 13 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission, Monday received Sergei Mikhailovich Mironov, chairman of the Federation Council of Russia, on an official goodwill visit to the DPRK. Present there were Oleg Nikolayevich Kozhemyako, member of the Federation Council, Bato-Zhargal Zhyambalnimbuyev, vice-chairman of the Control Committee for t he Activities of the council, Valery Pavlovich Parfyonov, director of the Secretariat for the Chairman of the council, and other dignitaries and Andrei Gennadievich Karlov, Russian ambassador to the DPRK. Kang Sok Ju, first vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK, was on hand.
• Gorbachev Calls for International Aid to NK
  By Shim Jae-yun Staff Reporter Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev called on the international community to expand support for North Korea in its bid toward openness and economic development. During an exclusive interview with The Korea Times on the occasion of President Roh Moo-hyun's visit to Russia starting Sept. 20, Gorbachev expressed hope North Korea will overcome its difficulties to begin the constructi on of a modern society.
• North Korean Students' Mission Visits Primorskii Krai, Russia.
  [Vladivostok/KOTRA] Vladivostok news reported on August 20 that North Korean students from Pyongyang University of Foreign Language have been visiting Primorskii Krai, Russia since August 13. The students stayed there for 12 days and had an official interview with vice-governor, Boris Galcher on August 18. According to the Primorskii Krai government, the mission has a deep understanding of Russian culture and is fluent in Russian. The mission will return to North Korea on August 24 after joining the Russian Children's Center Concert. *Source: The Vladivostok news on August 20 (Aug. 24, 2004, KOTRA-North Korea Team, Koo Kyung-hee, Tel: 82-2-3460-7423)
• Russia's Efforts for Reconciliation and Peace in Korea (1)
  By Alexander Zhebin Director of the Center for Korean Studies Institute of Far Eastern Studies Russian Academy of Sciences A paper for the 2nd World Congress of Korean Studies Pyongyang, August 3-7, 2004
  1. Introduction Russia is an integral part of the Asia-Pacific region (APR). Two thirds of the Russian Federation's territories with more than 30 million Russian citizens are in Asia. We do not have any basic contradiction with any of the APR countries, a contradiction, such as would create ground for mistrust. However, the Asia-Pacific region still harbors a significant potential for disputes. There are forces, which would like to take advantage of the situation. Moscow is convinced that the remaining knots of tension and disagreements should be resolved by peaceful, political means. The purposes of Russia's policy in the APR are very clear-- our country is interested in a general improvement of the regional situation, in making it more stable and predictable. By the beginning of the current century Russia basically had finished the almost 10-years-long period of its policy toward Korea. The new course takes into account both social and economic changes in Russia and geopolitical realities on the international arena. Russia's new foreign policy is characterized, including that toward the Korean Peninsula, by a total disappearance of an ideological factor and by an appreciable increase in pragmatism in defining its approaches to the current global and regional problems.
• Sergey Mironov to visit DPRK
  Sergey Mironov, Chairman of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation is to pay an official visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. September 12-14
  Sergey Mironov visits the capital city of North Korea Pyeongyang to hold meetings with the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Yong-nam, President of the Supreme People's Assembly Zhoj The Bok, Prime Minister of DPRK Pak Ponq Ju and the Chairman of the National Defense Committee of DPRK Kim Jong-il.
  Sergey Mironov plans to visit the Supreme People's Assembly of DPRK, the Mausoleum of Kim Il-sung, National palace of studies and lay a wreath to the Monument of liberation. Chairman of the Council of Federation also plans to address to the faculty and students of the Kim Il-sung University.
  
• Trains, oil on agenda for Roh's road trip
  The Blue House announced yesterday that President Roh Moo-hyun will visit Russia and Kazakhstan at the invitation of leaders from each country. Mr. Roh travels to Kazakhstan for two days beginning Sept. 19 to meet with President Nursultan Nazarbaev. He then makes an official visit to Russia for three days through Sept. 23, for talks with President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders are expected to discuss linking the Trans-Siberian Railway with the Trans-Korean Railway, South Korea's participation in the East Siberian Gas Company and importing liquefied natural gas from the Sakhalin Islands. "The two will also discuss how to provide energy to North Korea when the North agrees to dismantle its nuclear program," said Chung Woo- seong, the presidential adviser on foreign policy. [Railways]
• Message of Sympathy to Russian President
  Pyongyang, September 4 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK, Saturday sent a message of sympathy to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, president of the Russian Federation, in connection with the recent explosions and hostage-taking incident in Russia perpetrated by terrorists that caused huge casualties among innocent inhabitants. The message said: A chain of recent hideous terrorism in your country can never be justified as they were the dastardly criminal acts perpetrated by the separatist forces and international terrorists to foil the process of the political settlement of the Chechen issue.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesman on Recent Terrorism in Russia
  Pyongyang, September 4 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA Saturday in connection with a series of recent terrorist acts in Russia that caused huge casualties: The terrorist acts committed in different parts of Russia recently have greatly shocked and infuriated the international community.
  It is the consistent and fixed stand of the DPRK government to oppose all forms of terrorism and any aid to it. Proceeding from this stand, the DPRK has actively supported the measures taken by the Russian government to cleanse Chechen terrorists and protect the security and territorial integrity of the country.
• Putin Sends Message on NK's Founding Day
  SEOUL (Yonhap) _ Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a congratulatory message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on the occasion of the 56th anniversary of North Korea's foundation, North Korea's media said
• Russian Provincial Government of Primorskii Krai Donates US$10,000 For the Construction of a Russian
  [Vladivostok, KOTRA] According to a report of the Itar-tass on Aug. 18, the Russian provincial government of Primorskii Krai donated $10,000 for constructing a Russian Orthodox church in Pyongyang, North Korea. The donation value was reportedly promised by Darkin, the governor of the Russian province, in the Autumn of 2003 when the governor visited Pyongyang. The event of the donation was performed at the National Cultural Palace in Pyongyang with attendees including Andrei Karlov, Russia¡¯s ambassador to the NK and Gang Chi-hyeon, a member of the NK¡¯s Religion Committee, the Russian news agency added. The construction of the church building which will sit on an area of 300 sq. m and nearby the Daedong River, started in June of last year, 2003. A part of the church building has already been constructed, while the construction of the parts requiring professional technology such as a roof is still in the process. Itar-tass reported that after the construction of the exterior aspect of the building, the interior items such as furniture would be installed. The news agency forecast that it would take more time for the building to have the actual appearance of a Russian Orthodox church. Meanwhile, two North Korean students are currently studying the theology of the church in Moscow. After graduation, they will serve the Saint Trinity Church, Pyongyang¡¯s first Russian Orthodox church under construction, Itar-tass added. *Itar-tass, Aug. 18, 2004
• Kim Jong Il Meets Russian FM Visiting DPRK
  Personal Letter From Putin Conveyed Kim Jong Il and the Russian Foreign Minister talk about matters of mutual concern including the nuclear issue. Kim Jong Il, General Secretary of the Worker's Party of Korea and Chairman of the National Defense Commission of the DPRK, met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov on July 5. The Russian Foreign Minister stayed in Pyongyang from July 4 to 5.
• Kim Il Sung's Soviet Image-Maker
  By Anatoly Medetsky Staff Writer Thursday, July 22, 2004 When World War II ended, and the Korean peninsula was divided into Soviet and U.S. occupation zones, South Korean radio began reporting that the leader of communist North Korea, Kim Il Sung, was not an ethnic Korean. At a time when Koreans ached for a leader of their own after decades of Japanese subjugation, Kim's grassroots popularity appeared to be in jeopardy. The job of masterminding a response to the South Korean claims fell to Lieutenant Colonel Grigory Mekler, the top Soviet propaganda officer in Korea.
• Kim Jong-il Plans Russia Visit
  [Yonhap,Jul.28th] North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is planning a visit to Russia as early as within this month, diplomatic sources here said Wednesday, citing North Korea's balanced diplomacy toward Russia and China and Kim's recent trip to China. The North Korean leader will likely visit Vladivostok to hold a summit with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, possibly before the end of the month or early next month, sources familiar with North Korean affairs said on condition of anonymity.
• Rodong Sinmun on Daily Developing DPRK-Russia Relations
  Pyongyang, March 17 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article recalls that an agreement on economic and cultural cooperation was signed between the governments of the DPRK and the former Soviet Union on March 17, 1949.
  The bilateral economic and cultural cooperation has become closer in recent years. Substantial work has been promoted between the two countries to boost exchange and cooperation in economic, cultural and other fields of social life
• North Korean Diplomat Prospects Favorable for a North Korea-Russia Relationship This Year
• Russian tanks to face off along demilitarized Zone
  In an odd juxtaposition, Russian tanks in North Korea will soon be facing Russian-made tanks in South Korea across the inter-Korean border, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The ministry confirmed a report in Chosun Ilbo, a Korean daily newspaper, that the army plans to deploy the Russian-made armored vehicles to the central-eastern Demilitarized Zone. A defense ministry spokesman said yesterday that about 30 T-80U Russian-made tanks and some BMP-3 infantry combat vehicles will begin guarding the border before the end of this year. South Korea's Russian tanks are far more modern than those of North Korea.
• South Korea to Deploy Russian Tanks on Frontline This Year
• Kim Jong Il Enjoys Performance by Russian Folk Dance Troupe
• Russia Sees Chance of Progress at Korea Talks
  Published: February 19, 2004 Filed at 7:13 a.m. ET MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's top Asia diplomat was quoted as saying on Thursday that Moscow saw the chance for ``some progress'' at six-sided talks in Beijing next week on North Korea's suspected nuclear weapons program.
• Kim Jong Il Attends Reception of Russian Embassy
• Russia's good graces with North Korea on trial
  [Foreign trade] [Rocketry]
• Russia Worried About U.S. Moves to Add Forces in Asia: Lawmakers
  [Belligerence]
• Russia Voices Opposition to Referring Nuclear Issue to UNSC
  [Exclusion] [Nuclear]
• North Korea?! Where Is It?
  [Russia] [US NK relations] [Exclusion]
• Friendship meeting hosted by Russian Ambassador
  [Cultural relations]
• Russians Say Times Report Is Untrue
  [Espionage] [Black]
• Special envoy of Russian President interviewed
  [Losyukov]
• Kim Jong Il receives special envoy of Russian President
  [Losyukov]
• Russia Helped U.S. on Nuclear Spying Inside North Korea
  {James Risen} [Nuclear] [Espionage]
• DPRK officials meet special envoy of Russian President
  [Losyukov]
• Russian Envoy in N. Korea for Nuclear Crisis Talks
  [Nuclear] [Russia] [Peace Efforts] [Losyukov] [United Nations] [Starvation]
• Russia's Putin to Send Envoy to North Korea
  [Peace efforts][Spin][Losyukov]
• S. Korea, Russia Urge NK to Revoke NPT Withdrawal
  [NPT]
• Moscow Is Negotiating With North Korean Officials In Quiet Effort To Defuse Tensions
  [Peace efforts] [NPT][Friction] [Nuclear]
• Koizumi joins Russia in N Korea 'concern'
  [NPT]
• S. Korea, Russia Urge NK to Revoke NPT Withdrawal
  [NPT]
• Russian Defence Minister on DPRK's nuclear problem
  [NPT][Pro-Pyongyang]
• Koizumi joins Russia in N Korea 'concern'
  [NPT] [Peace efforts] [Japan Russia relations]
• Russia and Japan Want to Cooperate, Territory Problem Still Unsolved
  [Japan Russia relations]
• Kim Jong-il's Manual
  [Admission] [Iraq]
• Moscow pledged to assist Seoul in dealing with N.K. nukes
  [Nuclear]
• Deputy South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Hang-kyung, left, and his Russian counterpart Alexander Losyukov smile during a meeting in Moscow, Sunday.
  [photo]
• North Korea is Playing the Game of Threats and Bribery
  [Nuclear] [Admission] [James Kelly]
• George Bush's Web of Lies
  [Iraq][Missile Defense]
• Russia seeks to calm nuclear row
  [Nuclear]
• Kim Yong Nam sends message of sympathy to V. Putin
  [terrorism]
• Russia Warns N. Korea to Stay in Treaty -AP
  [NPT]
• Protocol on cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow inked
• Russia talks to North about nuclear issue
• Russian defense official to visit Seoul
• Russia offers to help soothe tension over North Korea's nuclear intentions -AP
  [Nuclear]
• Gov't Procures $534 Mil. Worth of Russian Weaponry
  [Armaments]
• Russia expresses "deep concern" about North Korean nuclear announcement -AP
  [Agreed Framework]
• Moscow calls for N.K. U.S. to adopt favorable stance for each other
  [Nuclear]
• Russia Leery of N. Korea's Nuke Info -AP
  [Nuclear]
• Seoul, Moscow vow military cooperation
• Seoul, Moscow fail to reach loan accord
• Russia expresses concern over North Korea's "contradictory" claims on nuclear arms -AP
  [Nuclear]
• Russian foreign minister expresses concern to North Korean ambassador over nuclear weapons charges -AP
  [Nuclear]
• N.K. air force officials visit Russia
• Report: Moscow unconvinced North Korea is pursuing a nuclear weapons program -AP
  [nuclear]
• North Korean military delegation in Russia
• Russia and N.K. to practice joint military drill next month
• Russia to continue military exchanges with N.K., Iran
  [armaments]
• Putin Hails Railway, Road Project
  [Connections] [Railways]
• South's Foreign Minister holds talks with Russian counterpart
• Russia's Putin praises Japan's Koizumi for plans to visit North Korea -AP
  [Putin] [Koizumi]
• Kim Jong Il Holds Third Summit Talks with Putin during Tour of Far Eastern Region of Russia
• North asks Russia for help removing land mines
  [Railways]
• Russia in hurry to link Koreas to the Trans-Siberia Railway
  [Railways] [China]
• North said shopping for Russian weapons
  [Armaments]
• Detailed report on Kim Jong Il's visit to Far Eastern region of Russia
• Russia sells military spare parts to North Korea -AP
  [Armaments]
• Achievements in DPRK
• Kim Jong Il returns home
• North media abuzz as leader returns
• North Korean, Russian ties firmly on track
  {Sergei Blagov} [Railways]
• Koreans deeply impressed by Kim Jong Il's foreign tour
• Kim Jong Il meets with Putin
• Chairman Kim Jong-il looking around the pharmaceutical plant in Khavarovsk, Far Eastern district of Russia on Thursday, August 22
  [photo]
• N. Korea, Russia Talk Economics -AP
• Putin, Kim discuss linking railroads
  [Railways]
• Kim, Putin talk railroad links, economic cooperation
  [Railways]
• Sergeyevna Remembers Kim Jong Il
  [Kim Jong Il]
• Kim Jong Il visits Komsomolsk-on-Amur
• N.K. Chairman Kim Jong-il observing the statue of Lenin at military museum at Khavarovsk in Far East Russia Thursday, August 22
  [photo]
• Kim, Putin meeting set on Friday
  [Religion] [Kim Jong Il]
• Third day: Kim Jong-il visits factories in Khabarovsk
• Kim's trip said to promote North's economic reforms
  [Economic reform]
• North Korean leader heartedly embraces his Russian host
  {James Brook} [Arrogance]
• N. Korea's Kim talks economics with Putin
• North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, second from left, visits an aircraft plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Wednesday
  [photo]
• Kim's Tour Troubles ROK Diplomats
• Kim Jong Il leaves to visit Far Eastern region of Russia
• Kim Jong-il in Russia
• DPRK-Russia friendly relations grow stronger
• N.K.-Russia's strategic partnership would pressure U.S.
• North's leader sits in cockpit of Russian jet; summit unsure
  [Armaments] [Kim Jong Il]
• North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, center, waves as Russian presidential envoy Konstantin Pulikovsky stands....
  [photo]
• Kim Jong-il reaches first destination; discusses military cooperation
  [Armaments][Russia]
• North Korea Chairman Kim Jong-il at Russia's border station of Khasan on Tuesday, August 20
  [photo]
• Second day in Russia: Kim Jong-il to view fighter jets
  [Railways] [Armaments]
• North Korean Leader's 2nd-day Itinerary Focused on Economy
  [Joint venture] [Armaments] [Russia]
• North-Russia ties at a mature stage, Russian ambassador says
• Kim Jong-il rolls into Russia
• Military, Economic Figures Accompany Kim Jong-il
• Kim Jong-il begins trip to Russia's Far East
• North-Russia ties stronger than ever, says Russian ambassador
• Russia's Far East tensed over preparations for N.K.-Russia summit
• Russian Paper Says N. K. Talks to be Held in Late August
• Signature campaign by Koreans in Russia
  [Diaspora]
• NK Confirms Kim to Visit Russia Soon
• N.K. media confirms Kim Jong-il to visit Russia this month
• Kim Jong Il to visit Russia
• Kim Jong-il plans Russia visit
• Kim Jong Il's visit to Russia given wide publicity abroad
• Russian delegation from Amur region visits Pyeongyang
• Seoul to use part of debt for Russian armaments
  [Armaments]
• Russian rail journey set for North's Kim
  [Kim Jong Il] [Railways] [Energy]
• Anniversary of Kim Jong Il's Russian visit observed
• North's Kim, Putin expected to confer
• North's Kim reported set for another Russia visit
• DPRK Ready for Talks with U.S., Japan: Ivanov
  [Peace efforts]
• North celebrates 1st anniversary of Kim Jong-il's visit to Moscow
• Russian foreign minister interviewed
• Chairman Kim Jong-il may visit Russia's Far East
  [Russia]
• Kim Jong Il sees performance "Arirang"
  [Arirang] [Russia]
• Kim Jong Il receives Russian foreign minister
• N.K. ready for unconditional talks with U.S., Japan
  [US-NK negotiations] [Peace efforts] [Russia]
• Ivanov Meets Paek Nam-sun in Pyongyang
  [Russia] [Peace efforts]
• Ivanov to Deliver Putin's Letter to NK Leader
  [Russia] [Peace efforts]
• Russian foreign minister arrives in North Korea -AP
  [Russia] [Peace efforts]
• Embassy Opening Heralds New Russo-Korean Ties
• Ivanov to deliver Putin's letter to N.K. leader
  [Russia] [Peace efforts]
• Korea, Russia Agree on Security Cooperation
  [Railways]
• Seoul Rejects Moscow's Mediation
  [Russia] [Peace efforts]
• South Korea only venue for 2nd inter-Korean summit: ministry
• Russia to Propose Two Kim's Meeting in Khabarovsk
  [Peace efforts] [Russia]
• Kim Will Ask Ivanov to Persuade NK Leader
  [Sunshine policy]
• Russian Envoy to Convey ROK Message to NK
  [continuities]
• Russian official: North Korea ready for dialogue with South Korea -AP
  [Railways] [Continuities] {Konstantin Pulikovsky}
• Russian foreign minister to visit both Koreas
• Book Shows Arrest of N. Korea Agents -AP
  [drugs]
• Kim Jong Il meets with Russian military delegation
• N.K. defense minister meets with Russian military delegation
• DPRK, Russian FMs Sign Plan of Exchange; Mutual Commitment Confirmed
• DPRK foreign minister's visit to Russia
• North, Russia reaffirm agreement with the South
• Russian foreign minister praises warming ties with North Korea -AP
• DPRK foreign minister Paek Nam Sun leaves for Russian Federation
• N. Korean Foreign Minister Embarks on Visit to Russia
• North says its security is directly linked to Russia
• Kim Jong Il Meets Russian Envoy and Mayor
• Kim Jong-il to visit Far East within year
• Pulikovsky wishes success for army-first policy
• North's foreign minister to visit Russia in May
• Army-first policy lauded
• Kim Jong Il meets Pulikovski
• Russian musicians entertain Kim Jong-il
• Mayor calls visit a success
• Russia welcomes North Korean readiness to resume reconciliation talks with South -AP
• Russian mayor on way to Seoul after N.K. visit
• N.K. delegation wraps up trip to Russia
• Moscow's ties with Pyongyang back on track
• Kim Jong Il receives mayor of St. Petersburg of Russia
• North Korea's Other Axis: With Moscow
• Papers on DPRK-Russia relations
• Kim Jong Il attends holiday celebration hosted by Russian ambassador
• DPRK delegation of general bureau of atomic energy leaves for Russia
• Russia celebrates a half-century of aid to North
• Russian defense minister sees Bush about potential U.S. nuclear targeting -AP
• Kim Jong Il Meets Putin's Envoy; Mutual Commitment Reconfirmed
• N.K.'s rejection of dialogue is no surprise, says VOR
• Seoul Snubs Sukhoi in Fighter Project
• Plenipotentiary Representative of Russia Visits Pyongyang
• Russian Envoy Stresses Russo-DPRK Ties Are Good
• Congratulatory letter to Kim Jong Il from V. Putin
• Beijing and Moscow offer birthday wishes
• Kim Jong Il meets Pulikovski
• Kim Jong Il receives Pulikovski from Russia
• NK Leader Meets Russia, China Envoys in Pyongyang
• Representative of Russian President to Far East Federal District here
• North and Russia to reinforce ties in various fields
• Russia Set to Mediate S-N Talks
• Pyongyang and Moscow open friendly ties
• Kim Jong Il Visits Russian Embassy
• Russia's Foreign Minister meets with North Korean ambassador
• N. Koreans rescued by Russian vessel
• NK Leader Visits Russian Embassy
• Kim visits Russian Embassy in Pyeongyang
• Kim Jong Il visits Russian embassy here
• Korea, Russia hold policy meeting today
• Russia Reports Spying by U.S. Foes -AP
• Text of Putin's ABM Statement - AP
• Friendly gathering between Russia ambassador and N.K. military heads
• N.K. criticizes China and Russia for joining anti-terror moves
• North Korea and Russia may be laying grounds for MIG-29 production
• Make better use of DPRK-Russia relations, says analysis
• Chairman Kim to receive new Russian ambassador Karlov
• Russia to Send Military Delegation to North
• Russia Credited With Convincing North to Join Anti-Terror Pacts
• Sunshine Policy Going the Right Way, Says Gorbachev
• Putin Blames U.S. for Frosty North Korean Stance
• North Korean Workers in Siberia Wandering Around as Aliens
• Russia names new envoy to P'yang
• DPRK, Russia Reconfirm Revitalized Traditional Ties; Kim Jong Il Meets V. Putin Again in Moscow
• Speech of Kim Jong Il at Banquet (in Russia)
• Speech of V.V. Putin at Banquet
• Kim Jong Il's visit to Russia reported by Russian media
• Detailed report about Kim Jong Il's visit and stay in Russia
• Kim's visit to Russia to aid normalization of ties
• Kim Jong Il's message of thanks to Putin
• Joint statement of WPK, CMC of WPK and DPRK NDC
• Kim Jong-il Returns Home
• U.S. Thanks Russia for Encouraging North Korea
• Seoul Assesses North Korea -Russia Summit
• Kim Jong Il has unofficial meeting with V.V. Putin
• Russia, N. Korea Leaders Sign Pact
• Abrupt Kim-Putin Talks Grab Seoul's Attention
• Speculation mounts in Seoul over 2nd Kim-Putin meeting
• Rediscovered North Korean ties raise doubts in Moscow
• DPRK-Russia Moscow Declaration [via People's Korea]
• Full Text of DPRK-Russia Moscow Declaration[via KOTRA]
• Foreign minister says Putin may have urged Kim to visit Seoul
• Editorial]N.K.-Russian summitry
• Highlights of Saturday's N.K.-Russia declaration
• Talks held between leader Kim Jong Il and President V.V. Putin
  (various other articles in same and subsequent issues)
• DPRK-Russia Moscow Declaration
• NK-Russia Summit Refocuses Attention on USFK
• Withdrawal of U.S. troops included in N.K.-Russia pact
• Putin-Kim pact feared to prolong stalemate
• Kim visits Moscow space Sites
• Kim's visit annoys Russian press
• Russian-North Korean Declaration: Excerpts
• Economy, security to top N.K.-Russia summit agenda
• Putin Congratulates Kim on Trans-Siberian Odyssey
• Seoul Hails Summit Accord
• Putin, left, shakes hands with Kim Jong-il (photo)
• Kim Jong-il, Putin to Hold Summit Today
• Kim's Omsk visit seen as plan to modernize weapons
• Kim goes on Siberian walkabout
• Kim to Stay in Russia for 24 Days
• [Today's Editorial] Kim Jong-il's Visit to Moscow/Selection of Leader for Super Bank
• 'Russia, N.K. make progress on high-tech weapons trade'
• [Editorial]Kim Jong-il's journey to Moscow
• Kim Jong Il to visit Russia
• Answers given by Kim Jong Il to questions raised by Itar-Tass
• Kim Jong-il's Railroad Trip to Moscow
• 'N.K.-Russia talks will benefit inter-Korean relations'
• Officials: N Korea Leader in Russia
• Chong Wa Dae Welcomes Kim's Trip as Positive Sign
• Kim's Visit Raises Hopes for S-N Ties
• Kim takes slow route to Moscow
• Breakthrough in Pyongyang-Moscow Debt Talks
• First anniversary of DPRK-Russia joint declaration marked
• DPRK, Russia Sign New Military Pacts to Develop Military Ties
• NK Seeks to Purchase Weapons From Russia
• Moscow firms military ties with Pyongyang
• Talks held between vice-chairman of DPRK NDC and Russian deputy prime Minister
• Russia's defense deal with N. Korea not viewed as threat to ties with S. Korea
• NK ASKS FOR DELAY IN KIM JONG IL'S MOSCOW VISIT
• News Analysis: Russia May Help Persuade North Korea to Give Up Missiles
• South Korea Now Pulls Back From Russia on Missile Shield
• [Today's Editorial] Outcome of Kim-Putin Summit
• Putin Meets Opposition Leader
• Stability on Korean Peninsula important to Russia, says Putin
• Putin Swipes at Bush After Winning Seoul's Support
  [See related stories on US page]
• Putin in Korea: A Mix of Trade and Politics
• Putin Backs `Sunshine' Policy
• Summit Produces `Perfect' Trade-Off
• Kim, Putin agree on support for S-N detente, arms control
• Putin Expected to Seek `Constructive' Role in Inter-Korean Détente
• [Putin's speech] Russia Steps Up Friendship, Practical Cooperation With Asian Neighbors
• [Today's Editorial] Putin's Visit to Korea
• Kim, Putin to issue joint communique on N. Korea, economic cooperation
• [Editorial]Putin in Seoul
• Defense Tops Putin's Seoul Talks
• Putin arrives in Seoul today
• Russia's Putin to Arrive in Seoul Today
• Putin's East Asian adventure to court old allies
• Russia hoping to offset its debt to S.K. through N.K. investment
• Rodong Sinmun on Friendly and Cooperative Relations between DPRK and Russia
• Putin to Visit Korea Feb. 27-28
• Putin to discuss N.K., economic cooperation in Seoul next week
• 2 Koreas to attend missile talks in Moscow
• Papers on friendly and cooperative relations between DPRK and Russia
• Kim Jong-il to Visit Russia in April
• 'Putin-Kim Jong-il summit in April'
• Russia, North Korea agree summit date

  2000
  

• Rodong Sinmun Runs Putin's Article
• P.M. Lee says Russia visit consolidated bilateral Ties
• Russian Policy Towards North Korea
• Russia Backs Korea's Peace Initiative Putin Assures President Kim
• PUTIN TO VISIT NORTH KOREA IN JULY (New York Times 9 June)