North Korean News Agency: Bashar al-Assad Determined to Meet Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang

The North Korean state news agency reported on Sunday that Bashar al-Assad has announced his intention to travel to Pyongyang to meet with Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea. This meeting would mark the first hosting of a head of state since Kim came to power in North Korea. The state news agency reflected statements made by Assad a few days prior, indicating the Syrian president's plans to visit North Korea and meet its leader. It was reported that this comment was made on Wednesday during the ceremony for the new North Korean ambassador's credentials in Damascus, and Reuters noted that the Syrian president's office has yet to comment on this news. Syria and North Korea have long maintained good relations, and UN monitoring reports indicate North Korean cooperation with Syria in the development of chemical weapons, although Pyongyang has denied such reports. Both countries face international isolation due to their actions, with North Korea's controversial nuclear weapons program and Syria's government's violent crackdown on protesters during the seven-year civil war exacerbating this issue. However, since the beginning of this year, the North Korean leader has held unexpected diplomatic meetings with leaders from South Korea and China, and is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore in less than ten days. Kim Jong Un, who has been in power since 2011, has not yet met with any head of state in Pyongyang. According to the North Korean state news agency, Bashar al-Assad praised the recent significant developments on the Korean Peninsula, attributing them to what he called Kim Jong Un's 'wisdom and outstanding political acumen.' He expressed confidence that the North Korean leader would succeed in 'achieving ultimate victory and realizing a united Korea.' Reuters, citing the South Korean Foreign Ministry, reported that North Korea established relations with Syria in 1966 by opening its representative office in Damascus, and Syria opened its embassy in Pyongyang three years later in 1969. Close military cooperation between the two countries took shape during the Arab-Israeli wars in October 1973, when North Korea sent 530 military personnel, including pilots and tank and missile guidance personnel, to Syria.