{
  "id": 2960214,
  "title": "N. Korea, Belarus near visa-waiver agreement for ordinary citizens: report",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/n-korea-belarus-near-visa-waiver-agreement-for-ordinary-citizens-2960214",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-24T06:32:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/foreignaffairs/northkorea/20260824/n-korea-belarus-near-visa-waiver-agreement-for-ordinary-citizens-report"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "North Korea and Belarus are reportedly close to reaching a visa-waiver agreement for their citizens, according to Belarusian state media. Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov stated that this agreement would be signed \"in the very near future\" following discussions with his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son-hui. The two countries discussed various aspects of their bilateral relations during a recent meeting, with a focus on the pending visa-free travel agreement. The only remaining details to be finalized are some technicalities. This development is believed to be a continuation of the friendship and cooperation agreement signed between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their March summit in Pyongyang. During that summit, Lukashenko received an assault rifle from Kim as a gift, further highlighting the strengthening of ties between the two nations.",
  "summary": "North Korea and Belarus are close to signing a visa-waiver agreement for ordinary citizens, Belarus' state media has reported. The report by the Belarusian news agency BelTA on Sunday (Belarus time) said Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov discussed ways to enhance mutual times with his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son-hui, including the pending deal. \"We will sign it in the very near…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "N. Korea, Belarus near visa-waiver agreement for ordinary citizens: report",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/n-korea-belarus-near-visa-waiver-agreement-for-ordinary-citizens",
        "published": "2026-08-24T05:51:38.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "N. Korea, Belarus near visa-waiver agreement for ordinary citizens: report",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/n-korea-belarus-near-visa-waiver-agreement-for-ordinary-citizens-2958720",
        "published": "2026-08-24T06:27:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}