PYONGYANG, North Korea, July 7 (UPI) -- A delegation from Russian gas company Gazprom arrived in North Korea to discuss cooperation in the energy sector, the gas monopoly announced.
Alexei Miller, chief executive at Gazprom, welcomed Kim Yong Jae, North Korean envoy to Russia, to Moscow in June to discuss the potential for cooperation in the energy sector. The gas company announced in a statement that a delegation from Moscow had arrived in North Korea.
The construction of a gas pipeline through North Korea to South Korea was considered by Gazprom as a viable option for delivering gas to the east though acrimony between both Koreas put that idea on hold, Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports.
Gazprom and the South Koreans agreed to consider gas deliveries in 2009. Moscow said it could start shipping gas for Seoul by 2017.
Gazprom is supplying South Korea with around 1.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year.
