(LEAD) Russia sends hundreds of goats to N. Korea amid deepening bilateral ties
(LEAD) N Korea-Russia-goats
SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Yonhap) -- Russia's agriculture safety watchdog has approved the shipment of 447 goats to North Korea after reviewing related veterinary and sanitary conditions, according to its website, amid deepening cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
After veterinary inspection, 432 female and 15 male goats were sent to a North Korean trading company in the first batch of exports of live animals to the North, according to a statement posted on the website of Russia's Rosselkhoznadzor on Friday.
The shipment was intended to be delivered from Russia's Leningrad region to North Korea's border city of Rason, it said.
The move came as North Korea and Russia have been bolstering the scope of their cooperation following last year's summit between the North's leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.