A high-level North Korean economic delegation was on its way to Iran, the North’s state media said on Wednesday, for what would be the two countries’ first known talks since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Embracing the idea of a “new Cold War”, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is pushing to build up cooperation with countries confronting the United States, as his intensified weapons tests prompted the US and South Korea to expand their military drills.

Pyongyang’s delegation led by Yun Jung Ho, North Korea’s minister of external economic relations, flew out Tuesday for the trip to Iran, the official Korean Central News Agency said.