North Korea to Join BRICS Alliance in 2024?
North Korea seems to have its eyes on joining the BRICS bloc come 2024. The country recently skipped a UN General Assembly and instead attended a BRICS event, hinting its intentions to become the alliance’s 10th member. This comes as BRICS is preparing for its annual summit, which promises to be a hotbed of important announcements, especially with the arrival of the BRICS Pay system and talks about de-dollarization. The buzz around North Korea joining is echoed in reports on watcher.guru.
Back in 2023, BRICS invited six nations to join, and four of them—UAE, Egypt, Iran, and Ethiopia—jumped on board, expanding the group to nine members. With over 30 countries eager to join, the group’s expansion is a hot topic again this year. North Korea isn’t shying away from the action, having ramped up trade talks with Russia to bolster its case for joining BRICS. However, experts are skeptical about its odds, noting the need for unanimous approval among current members. Regardless, BRICS is gearing up for major economic initiatives, notably a new blockchain-based payment system set to shake up trade in national currencies.