Russia Expects N Korean Reps to Attend Eastern Economic Forum After Nuke Test

Amid escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula as a result of the latest nuclear and missile launches by Pyongyang, Russia expects North Korean representatives to attend the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in the Russian Far East.

VLADIVOSTOK (Sputnik) — North Korean representatives are expected at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev said Monday.

"Tomorrow is the day when the main participants will gather, tomorrow the forum will take its course… but we are waiting for North Korean representatives," Trutnev told reporters following a meeting of the Russian-Korean joint commission on economic, scientific and technical cooperation.

The Eastern Economic Forum will kick off later this week, several days after the North Korean nuclear test on Sunday, even further escalating the situation on the Korean Peninsula and prompting global condemnation and concern.

Following the nuclear test, Russia and China, which have been maintaining economic ties with North Korea, agreed to jointly react in a "relevant manner" to Pyongyang's latest nuclear test.

While US President Donald Trump has been calling on Beijing to halt trade ties with Pyongyang, Russia and China issued a joint statement this summer, proposing a "double freeze" plan, urging North Korea to stop nuclear tests, while calling on Washington and Seoul to refrain from joint drills in order to ease tensions.