Ri Hi-yong, center, a member of North Korea's Workers' Party Central Committee Politburo, arrives in Moscow, Feb. 24, in this photo published by the Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap

A high-ranking official from North Korea's ruling Workers' Party has held talks with the secretary general of Russia's ruling United Russia party and signed a protocol to expand cooperation between their parties, the North's state media reported Thursday.

Ri Hi-yong, a member of the Workers' Party of Korea's Central Committee Politburo, and Vladimir Yakushev, the secretary general of the Russian party, held talks Tuesday in Moscow, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

They discussed measures to expand party-to-party exchanges to a level befitting the comprehensive strategic partnership between their countries, as well as ways to increase common action, according to the report.

Following the talks, the two parties signed a protocol on "expanding cooperation in various sectors and deepening development" for the 2025-2027 period, the KCNA said.

Ri arrived in Moscow on Monday, leading a delegation from his party, at the invitation of Russia's ruling party, the KCNA earlier reported.

Since forging a mutual defense treaty last year, Pyongyang and Moscow have strengthened bilateral cooperation in defense, economy, sports and various other fields. (Yonhap)