A senior North Korean official reportedly visited Laos and stressed the North's policy of bolstering defense capabilities.

According to the North's state Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sunday, Kim Song-nam, director of the international department at the North's ruling Workers' Party, met Thongsavanh Phomvihane, head of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party's external relations committee, in the Laotian capital city of Vientiane last Friday.

In the meeting, Phomvihane reportedly said that the Laotian party and the government fully support the North Korean government and the Workers' Party’s policy for protecting the peace and safety of the Korean Peninsula.

The KCNA said Kim and Phomvihane discussed ways to develop friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries to meet the needs of the new era and strengthen mutual support and solidarity on the international stage.

Kim also paid a courtesy visit to Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith and conveyed the North Korean Workers' Party's position that it will actively seek strategic cooperation and joint strife with Laos to realize true international justice.

A North Korean delegation led by Kim made the visit to Laos after visiting China and Vietnam.

The three-day trip appears to be aimed at strengthening Pyongyang's ties with socialist countries after South Korea established diplomatic relations with Cuba last month.