Roundtable Discussion on North Korea Trade Also Held
A Russian logistics industry official estimated that the trade volume between North Korea and Russia reached $34 million (approximately 4.65 billion KRW) last year.
According to Russia's state-run Sputnik news agency, Yevgeny Nikikorov, Chairman of the International Logistics Committee under the International Exporters and Importers Association, presented this figure in an interview held on the occasion of the roundtable discussion "North Korea, a Closed Market·Open Opportunities" in Moscow on the 10th (local time). Nikikorov stated, "Economic relations between Russia and North Korea have developed significantly over the past three years."
Nikikorov added that this trade volume is "a record figure since the (former) Soviet era." In fact, in March, Alexander Matsegora, Russian Ambassador to the Pacific, stated in an interview with Sputnik that the trade volume between North Korea and Russia has grown rapidly since the signing of the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty" between the two countries.
Nikikorov emphasized that increased exports of food such as flour, beans, oil, and grains to North Korea, as well as increased exports of hydrocarbon products, have driven the expansion of trade volume between the two countries. He also stressed that Russian entrepreneurs are preparing to increase imports of products from North Korea.
Nikikorov also argued that, in order to expand trade with North Korea, it is necessary to ease customs regulations and develop import and export routes. He further added that it is important to expand the possibilities for rail delivery and to expedite the opening of the bridge currently under construction over the Tumen River. Previously, North Korea and Russia agreed to build a bridge for automobiles over the Tumen River during President Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang last year. Construction of this bridge began in April.
The International Exporters and Importers Association is a Russian logistics industry interest group headquartered in Moscow. According to the biography section on its website, Nikikorov also runs a logistics company in Russia.
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