DAMASCUS (AP) -- A high-level North Korean official held talks in Damascus on Saturday with senior officials of Syria's ruling Baath Party on ways to develop relations between the two countries, Syria's official news agency reported.

Choe held separate talks in Damascus with Abdullah al-Ahmar and Mohammed Saeed Bkheitan, both assistant heads of the Baath Party command.
In their meeting, Al-Ahmar and Choe discussed how ""the policies of aggression, occupation and hegemony"" were causing threats to security and stability in the region and world, SANA said.
Israeli warplanes struck a target deep in northeastern Syria on Sept. 6. Israel gave no more details, and Syria had said it was an unused military building that was hit.
Since the bombing, however, Western news media have quoted unidentified U.S. officials as saying that the air strike hit some sort of nuclear facility linked to North Korea, which is now in the process of dismantling its nuclear weapons program.
North Korea provides missile technology to Syria, but has strongly denied accusations that it has shared its nuclear expertise with other countries.
Syria also has denied receiving any North Korean nuclear help or embarking on any nuclear program.
The two countries accused U.S. officials of spreading the allegations for political reasons.
Last month, a high-level Syrian delegation visited Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.
North Korean state media said Choe's current overseas trip will also include a visit to Italy.