India raised eyebrows last month when its junior foreign minister, V K Singh, visited Pyongyang and held meetings with several top-level North Korean ministers and government officials. It was the first visit by a senior Indian official to North Korea in 20 years, although the two countries have maintained backchannel diplomatic communication for decades. Political observers and international relations experts say that Singh’s North Korea visit was not a random diplomatic outreach to the communist country but a part of New Delhi’s ongoing efforts to retain a working relationship with the reclusive nation. Singh’s two-day visit was also a symbolic commemoration of the 45-year-long diplomatic relations between India and North Korea. Read more: North Korea denuclearization: Can Pyongyang be trusted? Former President Mohamed Nasheed: ‘Maldives government selling oil to North Korea’ Historic ties India comes right after China as North Korea’s second-biggest trade partner among all other countries who maintain trade relations with the communist state. India makes up about 3.5 percent ($97 million, €83 million) of North Korea’s exports and 3.1 percent ($97 million) of its imports, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Observatory of Economic Complexity. “India-North Korea ties are a legacy from India’s non-aligned status during the Cold War,”…