Iran FM says he will visit North Korea

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s foreign minister says he will visit North Korea as both countries struggle under U.S. sanctions.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency on Sunday quoted Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying that the visit is being planned and a date will be announced soon.

The United States has ramped up sanctions on Iran since President Donald Trump withdrew from its 2015 nuclear accord with world powers last year. The U.S. has tightened sanctions on North Korea to try to persuade it to give up its nuclear weapons.

An Iranian parliamentary delegation visited North Korea in December, and North Korea’s top diplomat, Ri Yong Ho, visited Iran in August.