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Putin ally to lead Russian delegation to North Korea this week

Putin ally to lead Russian delegation to North Korea this week

Al Arabiya6 days ago
Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament, will head a Russian delegation on an official visit to the North Korean capital Pyongyang on August 14-15, the lower house of parliament said.
The delegation will participate in the 80th anniversary celebrations of the liberation of North Korea from Japanese colonial rule by Allied troops at the end of World War Two, the statement said.
The State Duma did not name the other members of the Russian delegation.
Volodin, a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, often heads parliamentary contingents on foreign trips, including a visit to India earlier this year.
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