Belarus president promises to expand cooperation with North Korea

SEOUL (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has promised to expand cooperation with Pyongyang in a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea's foreign ministry said on its website on Friday.

"I affirm that I will work to further expand cooperation with the DPRK to make it full of new content, and common programmes of giving mutual benefits to the improved well-being of the peoples of our countries," the ministry quoted Lukashenko as saying in a statement.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.

The message came as a reply to Pyongyang's sending of congratulations on the National Day of Belarus, the statement said.

Both North Korea and Belarus have close ties to Russia, which has become more diplomatically isolated on the global stage since it ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Vladimirovich Ruzenkov travelled to North Korea and met with senior government officials this week, including premier Kim Tok Hun and foreign minister Choe Son Hui, North Korean state media reported.

At a reception in Pyongyang's Koryo Hotel for Ruzenkov on Tuesday, state media KCNA said Choe spoke of "comprehensively boosting relations" between the two countries.

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Gareth Jones)