North Korean president Kim Jung Il and a special representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin met this week in Pyongyang and signed an agreement to strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

North Korea's state-run news agency (KCNA) says Russian envoy Konstantin Pulikovsky delivered a personal letter from President Putin to the North Korean leader.

The report says Mr. Kim and Mr. Konstantin discussed shoring up cooperation on energy, transportation, and industry. Their talks followed up on discussions between President Kim and President Putin in their summit last August.

Since relations with the South Korea and the United States started cooling last year, North Korea has sought to establish stronger ties with Moscow, its old Communist ally. Tensions have also grown between Russia and the United States.

Mr. Konstantin concluded his visit on Tuesday.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

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