Syria and North Korea have agreed to form a joint committee to revive economic cooperation, according to an official statement by Syria’s industry ministry on Tuesday. 

Kim Hye Ryong, the chargé d’affaires at the DPRK Embassy in Damascus, met with Syrian industry minister Ziyad Sabbagh in the capital city according to the ministry, the first high-level public meeting between North Korean diplomatic personnel and the Syrian government since the death of Pyongyang’s ambassador to Syria in March.