North Korea, Russia, sign extradition treaty, agree to cooperate on crime

MOSCOW, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- North Korea and Russia signed an extradition treaty and agreed to provide mutual assistance in criminal matters, Russia's Justice Ministry stated on Wednesday.

Alexander Konovalov, Moscow's justice minister, said the two agreements were signed on Tuesday, with the first deputy of North Korea's Supreme Court Choi Keun Yong in attendance, Yonhap reported.

The bilateral convention on mutual assistance on criminal matters is designed to step up the efficiency of criminal investigations and prosecutions, and to "prevent crime," according to the Ministry.

The agreement includes provisions to share information, records and evidence, as well as conditions for the "search and seizure of assets, including house searches."

According to Russian news agency TASS, Konovalov said the two treaties are the primary results of a visit to North Korea, and that Russia has similar agreements with many other countries.

The justice minister said the second treaty is an extradition agreement to transfer suspects to their home country from the host nation.

The two countries recently reaffirmed ties after reaching an agreement on preventing dangerous military activities on Nov. 12. The agreement includes rules for dealing with tensions that may inevitably arise from military oversight, coping with casualties as well as "property damages" incurred in the proximity of the other country's army.

Economic exchange also has been given high priority, and North Korea is playing middleman to a three-way logistics project to transport Russian coal to South Korea, through the North Korean port city of Rajin.

South Korean television network KBS reported the first shipment of Russian coal to South Korea arrived in the port city of Gwangyang.

The bulk carrier had left North Korea on Nov. 17, according to Seoul, and had arrived late Thursday night, around midnight.

The remaining shipments of bituminous Russian coal are to be delivered on Nov. 22 and Nov. 30, and the carriers are expected to dock in Busan, South Korea's second-largest city.