Belarusian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko told a Russian official that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is not a dictator on Monday, boasting of his good ties with the DPRK’s head of state following a summit earlier this year.

Lukashenko’s remarks came as a North Korean delegation visited Belarus for talks on food security and healthcare cooperation.

In a meeting with Oleg Kozhemyako, the governor of Russia’s Primorsky Krai, the Belarusian leader said he hoped the region bordering North Korea could serve as a conduit for trade between Belarus and the DPRK, according to official footage of the talks.

Lukashenko called