North Korean foreign minister Ri Su Yong to visit India on Sunday

NEW DELHI: Presenting surprise element in India's foreign policy, Delhi will host Foreign Minister of North Korea for three days in what would be rare foreign visit by a leader of reclusive East Asian country and first to India by a North Korean leader in many years.

Ri Su Yong who arrives here on Sunday will meet Vice President Hamid Ansari and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. This visit is significant just a month ahead of PM Narendra Modi's trip to South Korea next month along with China and Mongolia.

While India and North Korea maintain diplomatic missions in each other's country, contacts between leaders and officials of two countries are rare. In 2013, North Korean Foreign Minister met his then Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid in Brunei on sidelines of multilateral event. MEA officials have occasionally travelled to Pyongyang. India provides development aid to North Korea like food grains from time to time.

The visit is also significant given fact that India is neither a mediator between North and South Korea nor has any role in international talks for nuclear issue.

Experts described visit as part of India's active Act East Policy. But in the past India has been worried over Pakistan's export of nuclear fissile material and missile technology to Pyongyang.

North Korea has probably most reclusive regimes in the world where ruling clique maintains tight control. It has low human right indices and one of backward population.