Senior officials from China and North Korea met on Thursday to strengthen their relationship following a recent cross-border visit by Kim Jong-un. During the meeting in Beijing, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi hosted a delegation led by Kim Song-nam, the international affairs chief of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
Wang Yi, acting as a member of the Politburo and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, stated that China is ready to work with the DPRK to "resolutely carry out the key consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and the two countries, and to advance bilateral ties towards deeper, greater, substantive and better development." Wang Yi was among the officials who welcomed Kim Jong-un to the border city of Dandong during his recent trip.
During the visit, Wang Yi briefed the North Korean delegation on the outcomes of the Communist Party’s fifth plenum. He noted that Beijing is prepared to increase exchanges regarding governance and party building, a move Pyongyang reportedly expressed openness to.
Kim Song-nam, who is considered a primary China expert for Pyongyang and oversees party-to-party ties, told the Beijing statement on Thursday that the DPRK is willing to work with China "in accordance with the will of the top leaders of both parties and both countries, to make unremitting efforts to develop friendly relations." He characterized Kim Jong-un’s recent visit—which marked the 76th anniversary of Chinese troops entering the Korean war—as evidence of a friendship "sealed in blood" and hardened by history.
These diplomatic moves occur alongside other high-profile interactions, including a visit to North Korea by a delegation from China’s Central Party School and a visit to Beijing by a KCNA delegation this week.
The diplomatic activity precedes the Apec summit in Shenzhen next week, which is expected to be attended by US President Donald Trump and other world leaders. While North Korea is not a member of Apec, the summit has sparked speculation regarding a potential meeting between Trump and the North Korean leader. However, Kim Yo-jong dismissed this possibility on Wednesday, stating there was "no need to sit face to face with such untrustworthy and hostile people."
The United States has recently introduced fresh sanctions targeting North Korea, while the FBI has accused Pyongyang of stealing more than US$6 billion from cryptocurrency exchange Binance in a sophisticated hack. Additionally, North Korea test-fired a new air defence missile on Wednesday, marking its third launch of that type in less than a week.
