Senior North Korean diplomat Ri Su Yong and top Cuban officials agreed in a series of meetings in Havana last week to deepen cooperation and exchanges in the name of their common socialist systems, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

In a report on a meeting with Ri Thursday, President Miguel Díaz-Canel was quoted as having said the two countries must “further mutual support and solidarity in the struggle for defending sovereignty, dignity and socialism,” owing to the “present complicated international situation.”