North Korean and Russian officials kicked off construction of a new joint hospital in the DPRK’s coastal city of Wonsan in the east Wednesday, marking another step in expanding bilateral cooperation in the field of health care.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the DPRK-Russia Friendship Hospital took place at Myongsasimni in the Wonsan Kalma tourist zone, with senior officials from both sides in attendance, North Korea’s state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Thursday. 

The Russian delegation was reportedly led by Health Minister Mikhail Murashko and Natural Resources and Ecology Minister Alexander Kozlov, who also co-chairs the bilateral intergovernmental commission on