North Korean and Chinese officials met in Beijing and pledged to further develop bilateral ties, North Korean media said on Sunday, as Pyongyang seeks to expand diplomatic contacts after the COVID-19 lockdown.
The North Korean delegation, led by Kim Sung-nam, head of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, is one of the groups that Pyongyang has maintained close ties with the region since last week.
At a meeting on Thursday, China’s No. 4 leader Wang Huning told Kim Jong-un that “no matter how the international situation changes, China-North Korea friendship is a strategic choice for both sides and will never waver,” KCNA said. North Korea’s official name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged messages earlier this year and vowed to build closer ties.
KCNA said Wang conveyed Xi Jinping’s “heartfelt and warm” message to Kim during Thursday’s meeting.
North Korea has imposed strict border restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, halting the flow of goods with China and Russia, suspending diplomatic engagements with its key allies and cutting off routes for smugglers and defectors.
Some restrictions remain in place, and Pyongyang has only recently allowed more access to foreign diplomats, resumed some diplomatic contacts and increased trade with Russia and China.
Kim Jong Un held talks with Cai Qi, secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Secretariat, on Friday, KCNA reported on Sunday.
KCNA said Cai said the friendship between the two countries was “forged with blood” and would usher in a brighter future under the “strategic guidance of Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un.”
Politburo alternate member Jin Chengnan also met with Liu Jianchao, head of the Chinese Communist Party’s agency responsible for managing relations with foreign political parties.
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