Amid strengthening cooperation in various sectors, such as the military and economy, North Korea and Russia have joined hands to respond to natural disasters.
On May 31, Russian news agency TASS reported that Nam Chol Gwang, Chairman of North Korea’s National Emergency Disaster Committee, and Alexander Kurenkov, the Russian Minister of Emergency Situations, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on disaster risk reduction. According to the report, the two institutions plan to exchange scientific achievements and conduct seminars and lectures in the future.
Kurenkov proposed to show North Korea the activities of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations’ rescue teams and universities, saying, “I am interested in studying the best practices of our North Korean comrades in dealing with natural disasters.”
North Korea is set to learn from Russia’s methods of preventing natural disasters to tackle issues such as flood prevention during the rainy season. The North Korean National Emergency Disaster Committee delegation left Pyongyang on May 29 to attend the Integrated Safety & Security Exhibition 2024 held in Moscow, Russia.
The delegation plans to attend the 26th International Science and Practice Conference. The conference deals with issues of protecting residents and regions during emergencies, as well as watching the international competition of firefighting with rescue techniques at the Aparinka training ground.
They also plan to observe the technological equipment that Russia captured from Europe and Ukraine.