Mongolian president's visit to North Korea aimed at increasing ties

North Korean workers toil in factories and on building sites, kimjongilia flowers bloom at a special exhibition, and a restaurant serves plates of bulgogi as another patriotic song blares from a television. Yet this chilly north Asian capital is not Pyongyang, but Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

An official visit by MongolianPresident Tsakhia Elbegdorj, who was due to arrive in North Korea yesterday as the first head of state to visit since Kim Jong-un took power, will cement a longstanding relationship.

Other countries, particularly China have ties to North Korea, but Mongolia is highly unusual as a democracy enjoying warm relations with both Pyongyang's authoritarian regime and Seoul government in the South. "The visit of our president will elevate relations to a new stage," Mongolian Foreign Minister Luvsanvandan Bold said.

Charles Armstrong, professor of Korean Studies at Columbia University and author of Tyranny of the Weak: North Korea and the World, said the countries had a shared history that pre-dated the communist period and "a common concern about domination by larger countries, namely Russia and China, and retaining political independence".

On Mongolia's side, its ability to engage with North Korea is a potentially important asset in dealing with other, more powerful countries.

"What Mongolia can provide is leverage to improve the situation in the region and pursue the initiative for parties to share dialogue. We see a lot of room to be more active," the foreign minister said.