A delegation from North Korea’s Korean Zinc Industry Association has visited eastern Russia to see a gold mine in Kolyma and to meet with local officials, the Magadan regional government announced Sept. 14.

Led by association chairman Lee Chang Hwa, the delegation visited the Omsukchan Mining and Geological Company’s Julietta gold and silver mine, which subsidiary company Northern Mines operates, the government stated.

The delegation’s visit comes as Northern Mines begins development of a gold and silver deposit in North Korea’s South Hamgyong Province, in the country’s northeast.

“This is the first such project in the Democratic People’s Republic of