North Korea sent its second most powerful official for meetings in Cuba this past week, the second such visit in less than two months, the Miami Herald reports.
Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel on Tuesday met with Choe Ryong Hae, a member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party of Korea and the second most powerful official behind North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
This meeting comes on the heels of a meeting between former Cuban leader Raúl Castro and North Korea envoy Ri Su Yong last month, the Herald reports.
Both North Korean officials delivered personal letters from Kim to both Diaz-Canel and Castro, the Herald reports.
The reasons behind the two meetings? Pure speculation.
"Despite years of isolation, Kim is trying to become something of a global player," Columbia University professor Christopher Sabatini told the Herald. "The Cubans also like to have a bigger presence on the world stage and to punch above their weight."
The two countries are friendly politically and militarily, the Herald reports, noting that the Cubans were caught violating international sanctions on North Korea by sending weapons hidden under a shipment of sugar in 2013.
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