JAKARTA - China and North Korea have strengthened their relations amid the political dynamics of the region. Kyodo News, quoted on Friday, April 10, reported that China's top diplomat Wang Yi and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui agreed to strengthen relations between the two countries when they met in Pyongyang, Thursday.
The agreement is said to refer to the consensus reached by Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in their meeting in Beijing in September last year. Wang, who made a two-day visit to North Korea until Friday, said Beijing was ready to work with Pyongyang to continue the positive momentum of bilateral relations.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Wang also called Xi and Kim's strategic guidance the strongest political guarantee for the development of relations between the two countries.
This year, China and North Korea are commemorating the 65th anniversary of the 1961 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance. Both sides agreed to hold commemorative activities and deepen cultural exchanges.
During the meeting, Choe also stressed that North Korea rejected the interference of other countries in China's internal affairs. Pyongyang, according to the ministry, supports Beijing's position in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity regarding issues that are considered to be of China's core interests, such as Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry also said the two ministers exchanged in-depth views on current international and regional issues, although it did not detail their discussions.
Wang's visit comes ahead of a trip by US President Donald Trump to China to meet Xi. The agenda is now scheduled for mid-May, after being postponed from an initial plan last week due to the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Since returning to the White House in January last year, Trump has repeatedly stated that he is ready to resume dialogue with Kim. The two met three times in 2018 to 2019 during Trump's first term, but talks on nuclear issues ultimately failed.
Xi and Kim's meeting in September, which was their first face-to-face meeting in more than six years, marked an improvement in China-North Korea relations. Previously, the relationship had been said to have become strained as North Korea's military cooperation with Russia deepened.
Afterwards, Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited Pyongyang in October and discussed broader bilateral cooperation with Kim. Last month, China-North Korea passenger train services resumed in both directions after being suspended for six years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Wang last visited Pyongyang in September 2019. China has long been known as North Korea's main economic backer.
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