Russia’s ambassador to North Korea believes this year will see a “breakthrough” in Moscow-Pyongyang relations, according to his interview with Russian state media.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I think that the current year will be a breakthrough in Russian-Korean relations in many respects,” Alexander Matsegora said during an interview with Russian state-controlled news agency TASS on Wednesday.

The diplomat did not specify how this breakthrough would come about but did refer to the groundwork that was laid for cooperation during a summitbetween Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin at a spaceport in the Russian