Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, talk at the German government's guest house Meseberg Palace in this August file photo. Reuters-Yonhap

By Jung Da-min

North Korea's party mouthpiece Rodong Sinmun's Monday edition highlighted conflicts surrounding a joint gas pipeline project between Germany and Russia, supporting Russia's argument that European countries should approve the project.

In a relatively toned-down editorial titled "Complex contradictions surrounding 'Nord Stream 2,'" the newspaper said the American attempt to sanction countries involved in the project was aimed at replacing Russian gas with the U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The editorial came out two days after the DPRK Information Committee, the North Korean government's organization committed to state-level public relations, began a rare trip to the U.K., France and Hong Kong.

These moves are seen as North Korea's efforts to raise its voice in international diplomacy, strengthening its ties with other countries as well as traditional close alliances with Russia and China to fight back against U.S. sanctions.

The North Korean newspaper also criticized the "double standards" of European countries that opposed the Russia-Europe joint project.

"Friction has been widening between Europe and the U.S. due to U.S additional tariffs on steel and aluminum, but Europe is not even trying to shift to active cooperation with Russia," Rodong said.

Nord Stream 2 is a project to build a new pipeline alongside an existing one to double the amount of gas directly transferred to Germany from Russia ― from up to 55 billion cubic meters to 110 billion cubic meters a year.

Russia's state-run gas company Gazprom is leading the project, working with companies from France, Austria, the Netherlands and Germany.