A North Korean delegation, led by Kim Song-nam, right, director in charge of international affairs at the Workers' Party, departs Pyongyang for visits to China, Vietnam and Laos, in this file photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, March 21. Yonhap

A senior North Korean official has reached a consensus with his Vietnamese counterpart on boosting cooperation and advancing their bilateral ties to a new level, Pyongyang's state media said Wednesday.

The move came during a meeting between Kim Song-nam, director of the international department at the Workers' Party, and Le Hoai Trung, secretary of the central committee and head of the central committee for foreign affairs at Vietnam's Communist Party, in Hanoi on Monday, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim arrived in the Southeast Asian country from China for the second leg of his three-nation trip that will also take him to Laos.

The trip came as North Korea appears to be resuming diplomatic activity with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), following years of Pyongyang's COVID-19 border shutdowns.

Laos plans to host the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and other ASEAN-related meetings as this year's chair country. The annual ARF is the sole regional forum joined by North Korea.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

Separately, a North Korean delegation led by External Economic Relations Minister Yun Jong-ho left for Russia on Tuesday, the KCNA said, without providing further details on the purpose of the trip.

North Korea and Russia have been strengthening cooperation following a rare summit between their leaders in September. (Yonhap)