N.Korea, Russia launch cooperation in high tech development

This was reported by the North Korean state news agency KCNA, as conveyed by Ukrinform.

"The DPRK-Russia IT products exhibition-2024 closed. Introduced at the exhibition were high-tech products including software (system and application), data security, information and communications, digital technology and industrial information device developed by educational and scientific research units and enterprises of the DPRK and the Russian Federation and sci-tech achievements," the report reads.

KCNA did not provide information about the participants of the event and their products, only noting that practical IT products and technological developments presented by “the best IT enterprises of the DPRK including the High-tech Development Institute of Kim Il Sung University and the Samwon IT Exchange Company and several companies of Russia drew the attention of experts and visitors.”

During the exhibition, participants from both countries shared experiences on several topics, including mobile communications, information security, industrial information systems, and digital technologies.

Details regarding the outcomes of the exhibition were also not disclosed; however, on Wednesday, KCNA reported the signing of a cooperation agreement at the exhibition between Russia's Ministry of Digital Development and North Korea's Ministry of Information Technology in Pyongyang, which outlines cooperation between the countries in the fields of communications, information technology, and digital development.

In recent years, most countries around the world have shied away from business with North Korea due to UN sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, which restrict joint ventures and the import and export of certain groups of goods, including electronics.

A special group of experts from the UN Sanctions Committee on North Korea monitored compliance with the sanctions; however, in March, Russia vetoed the extension of its work, and monitoring of compliance with the sanctions was suspended.

As reported by Ukrinform, North Korea successfully tested its latest solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-19 on Thursday, October 31, which is capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continental United States.