TEHRAN, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Iran's supreme leader told a North Korean official in Tehran this weekend the two nations face common enemies.
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei told the presidium of the North Korean parliament there were a number of areas of cooperation between both governments.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran and North Korea have common enemies since the arrogant powers cannot bear independent governments," Ayatollah Khamenei told Kim Young Nam, the head of the North Korean delegation to the Non-Aligned Movement summit in the Iranian capital.
Kim also met Saturday with Ali Larijani, speaker of the Iranian parliament, to discuss expanding trade and other ties. Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency made no mention of direct military cooperation but Young told Larijani that Pyongyang supported Iran's controversial but "peaceful" nuclear program, Fars said.
Other specific areas of cooperation included agriculture, mining and infrastructure investment.
The meeting came on the same day Larijani met with the Russian NAM delegation and expressed optimism about closer ties with Moscow.
