Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith will travel to North Korea next week at the invitation of leader Kim Jong Un to attend celebrations marking the anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, state media reported on Thursday.
The visit, scheduled for October 10, will be one of the rare trips by a foreign head of state to Pyongyang, which remains heavily sanctioned over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and continues to limit international visitors.
North Korea is expected to showcase its military might during the commemorations. According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, preparations are underway for a possible military parade to mark the founding of the party, a key annual event in Pyongyang’s political calendar.
Thongloun’s trip underscores longstanding ties between North Korea and Laos, both one-party states with a history of socialist solidarity. His visit comes as Pyongyang seeks to bolster relations with a small circle of like-minded nations amid growing international isolation.
In a further sign of North Korea’s outreach, Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam is also expected to visit later this month, which would mark the first trip by a Vietnamese leader to Pyongyang in nearly two decades.
Preparations are underway, though neither side has formally confirmed the visit.
The back-to-back visits highlight Pyongyang’s efforts to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian socialist states at a time of rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
